
Class _r'7>4^ 

Book.i.Hi4^U_ 
Gop}Tight N" _ 

COFl'KIGHT DEPOSrr. 



T II E 



History ot Melrose, 



(lounty of 21IibMc5Cx, 



IHassact^usctts, 



BY 



ELBRIDGE HENRY GOSS, 




I'UnMSHKD 1?Y 

THE CITY OF MKLROSK 
1902. 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies R«c«iv«<l 

MAY 5 190? 

^ Cepyiight EnVry 
CUSS Ou XXc No. 
COPY B. 



Copyright, igoj 
By Elbridge Henry Goss. 



MELROSK, Mass. : 
A. W. DuNTON & Co., rrinters. 



to 



PREFACE. 



MORE or less had been written about the History of Mel- 
rose, before this work was undertaken. The Town's 
action in the Civil War I had recorded in The Melrose 
Memorial: The Annals of Melrose, in the Great Rebellion of 
l86l-6^, published in 1868; a short history of the town pre- 
pared for Samuel Adams Drake's History of Middlesex County, 
in 1880; and another for J. W. Lewis & Co.'s History of Middle- 
sex Connty, in 1890. 

Notwithstanding this, there came to exist a desire on the 
part of many citizens, that a more thorough and complete 
history of our municipality be written. Possibly this wish was 
stimulated by the near approach of the time when Melrose 
would become a city, and, of the completion of the first half 
century since it was incorporated, May 3, 1850. But, be it 
remembered, the history of our territory reaches back over 
two and a half centuries. 

Early in the year 1898, in accordance with this often 
expressed wish, Franklin P. Shumway obtained the following 
names to a petition, requesting that the History of Melrose be 
written: 

Franklin P. Shumway. Allen C. Goss. 

Charles H. Adams. Charles A. Patch. 

Mary A. Livermore. Harry W. Sawyer. 

Moses S. Page. Henry M. Sylvester. 

Levi S. Gould. Joel C. Page. 

Sidney H. Buttrick. George L. Morse. 

William E. Barrett. Henry A. Leonard. 

Frank W. Hunt. Fernando C. Taylor. 

Royal P. Barry. Daniel Norton. 

Leonard S. Leighton. B. Marvin Fernald. 

Harry A. Batchelder. Alonzo G. Whitman. 

John Larrabee. Rev. Daniel P. Livermore. 

Wingate P. Sargent. Rev.Thomas Sims, D. D. 

Daniel Russell. Rev. Burke F. Leavitt. 



vi PREFACE. 

Oliver A. Roberts. Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 

John W. Farwell. Rev. Joseph K.Wilson, 

John O. Norris. Rev. George N. Howard, 

L. Frank Hinckley. Alonzo V. Lynde. 

Benjamin F. Robinson. Charles H. Isburgh. 

George E. Munroe. Nathan D. Blake. 

Jesse A. Dill. Dr. Julius S. Clark. 

Norman F. Hesseltine. Dr. Ernest S. Jack. 

Curtis C. Goss. Albert B. Franklin. 

Francis S. Hesseltine. Alonzo A. Knights. 

Charles C. Barry. Frank L. Washburn. 

John Buffum. Royal B. Leighton. 

Seth E. Benson. George L. Wildes. 
George C. Stantial. 

The next action was taken at a Town Meeting, held April 4^ 
1898, when Mr. Shumway offered a vote which is embodied in 
the following letter: 

Town Clerk's Office. 

Melrose, Mass., Apr. 21, 1898. 
Elbridge H. Goss, Esq. 

Dear Sir: — At the Annual Town Meeting you were unanimously 
invited to write a history of the Town of Melrose, under the following 
vote : 

That the Town invite, and authorize Mr. Elbridge H. Goss to write 
an illustrated history of the Town of Melrose. That the Town grant 
him full access to, and the privilege of copying or reproducing any 
records, maps, illustrations, &c., from the Town records and files, that 
he may desire, on the condition that he shall not receive any compen- 
sation from the Town for his services. 

Respectfully yours. 
Attest: W. DeHaven Jones, 

Town Clerk, pro tern. 

The task thus imposed upon me, in such a complimentary 
manner, by both town and citizens, became a command ; and, 
although undertaken with some hesitancy, has proven to be a 
pleasant work; and I have executed it to the best of my 
ability. It is now submitted to my fellow-citizens with the 
hope that the record is one which they may peruse with some 
degree of pleasure and satisfaction. 

For very many items concerning the early history of the 
town of which the "North End" or "North Maiden" was 



PREFACE. 



Vll 



quite an important part, I am indebted to that very excellent 
History of Maiden, recently issued, by Deloraine P. Corey; a 
most thorough, exact and pains-taking historian; one who is 
full of antiquarian zeal, who possesses a masterly knowledge 
of the local affairs of his native town, and, withal, who controls 
the '• pen of a ready-writer." For these reasons the citizens of 
Maiden are in possession of a work of superior value; one they 
may well take pride in. 

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the papers and 
memoranda left by the late Artemas Barrett; although in a 
somewhat disconnected and unsatisfactory state, still I never 
could have written what I have about the original families that 
occupied this territory without the aid thus rendered. Other 
citizens have aided with documents, facts communicated, and 
old papers; among them Hon. Levi S. Gould, George A. 
Fuller, Maurice G. Cochrane, Edwin C. Gould and the late 
D. Alvin Lynde. 

For the photographs for the half-tone illustrations, I am 
indebted to several of my fellow citizens; among them, Dr. 
John Dike, Walter C. Stevens, Walter L. Wedger, Dexter 
Pratt, Rev. Edwin C. Bolles, D. D., Henry Lynde, Hon. Levi 
S. Gould, William R, Lavender, Archie B. Mcllwraith, William 
L. Kirmes and William L. Kershaw; and to Charles H.Adams 
for the use of a number of plates from Melrose: Town and City . 
For kindly aid I am also indebted to our City Clerk, 
W. De Haven Jones, and his assistant, Victor C. Kirmes; and 
to many of the officers of our various institutions my ackowl- 
edgements are due. 

The history having been written the next thing to be done 
was its publication. A committee of the Board of Aldermen, 
consisting of Oliver B. Munroe, William A. Carrie and Edward 
S. Page, having been appointed to consider the] matter, made 
its report June 9, 1902, which was accepted and adopted. It 
embodied the following vote: 

Be it ordered, That the sum of fifteen hundred dollars is hereby 
appropriated for the printing, publication and sale, under the direction 
of the Trustees of the Public Library, of one thousand copies of a 
History of Melrose, compiled b}- Elbridge H. Goss; that the aforesaid 
amount so appropriated is for a temporary loan and in anticipation of 
the taxes of the municipal year of the city of Melrose, commencing 
January i, 1902, and is expressly payable therefrom; that the treasurer 



viii PREFACE. 

is authorized and directed to borrow the sum of fifteen hundred 
dollars for the purpose aforesaid and make and deliver therefor a note 
or notes of the city of Melrose payable in not exceeding one year from 
the date thereof at a rate of interest not exceeding four per cent. ; and 
that all moneys received from the sale of said work, after the payment 
to the city of whatever sum of money may be expended in the publi- 
cation of this work, and the payment of a reasonable selling commis- 
sion, shall be used by said Trustees for the purchase of books for the 
Public Library. 

In accordance with this vote the Trustees of the Public 
Library made a contract with the house of A. W. Dunton & Co. 
for the printing and publication of the work, which was dated 
June 30, 1902; to which date this History, as regards our local 
institutions has been completed. 

Melrose is the youngest city in the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts. From a small, sparsely settled town, it has grown, 
during its little more ^than a half century, to be an influential 
city of more than thirteen thousand inhabitants. Its history 
as a municipality has been eminently patriotic, noble and 
prosperous. Honesty and integrity have characterized its 
citizens. Its religious and educational interests are well 
established and liberally sustained. May the coming years be, 
by God's good guidance, equally blessed with peace, happiness 
and prosperity. 

Elbridge H. Goss. 

Melrose, June 30, 1902. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Early Exploration. 

Pagb 

Captain John Smith's voyage of 1614 — His description of New 
England — Visits of other navigators — The Northmen — Myles 
Standish — New England grants — Inland exploration — Our 
territory visited — The Spragues — Description by Gov. Win- 
throp, Rev. Francis Higginson, Thomas Morton, and others — 
Home of Nanepashemit and other Indians i 

CHAPTER II. 

Territory. 

Charlestown subdivided — Territory deeded by Squaw Sachem 
and Webcowet — Mystic Side incorporated as Maiden ^ — The 
Commons divided — Greenwood set ofif to Reading, the High- 
lands to Stoneham — Melrose incorporated — Its territory — 
Summits — Cascades — Ponds — Villages — Railroads — Our 
names — Deprivations of early settlers 10 

CHAPTER III. 

Roads, Streets and Highways. 

First road, Winnesemett to Reading — Petition of Thomas Lynde 
for change of location — Tufts 1795 map — Roads laid out — 
Streets — Sidewalks — Picture of in former days . . .41 

CHAPTER IV. 

Old Families and Homesteads. 

The Lyndes — Spragues — Greens — Barretts — Uphams — How- 
ards — Vintons — Emersons — Boardmans — Hemenway . . 58 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

Ecclesiastical History. 

Page 
The First Methodist Episcopal Church — Orthodox Congrega- 
tional Church — Highlands Congregational Church — First 
Baptist Church — Fells Baptist Church — Highlands Baptist 
Church — First Free Baptist Church — First Universalist Church 

— Trinity Episcopal Church — Unitarian Congregational Soci- 
ety — Liberal Christian Union Church — ^ Saint Mary of the 
Annunciation Church — ^ Old-time Church Going . . .136 

CHAPTER VI. 

Educational History. 

Early Maiden Schoolmasters — First School — Nathaniel Jenkins, 
Jr. — First Schoolhouse — Robert Gerry — Old High School — 
Franklin — Whittier — Converse —Ripley — Lincoln — Wash- 
ington — New High School — Dedication — Maker Tablet — 
School Committees 185 

CHAPTER VII. 

Military History. 

Wars — French and Indian — King Philip's — King William's — 
Drafting — The Revolution — Maiden's patriotic Resolutions 
and Instructions — The Lexington Alanii — Rolls of Minute- 
Men Companies — Service of North Maiden men — The Civil 
War, The Great Rebellion of 1861-5 — Town Action — First 
enlistments — Rallying Committee — Recruiting Committees — 
Drafts — War subscriptions — Number of men furnished — 
Suiplus — Relief of soldiers and their families — Various con- 
tributions — Roll of soldiers and sailors — Minute-men medals 

— Battery C. — Spanish- American War — Army enlistments — • ' 
Navy enlistments — Army Christian Commission — Y. M. C. A. 
Army Christian Commission 206 

CHAPTER Vlfl. 
Military Organizations. 

U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R. — Letter of U. S. Grant — Memorial 
services — Veteran bounty bill — Woman's Relief Corps No. 16 

— William Francis Barry Camp No. 79, Sons of Veterans — 
Ladies' Aid Society, No. 23 — Soldiers' memorials — Soldiers' 
monument . . . . . . . . . . -254 



CONTENTS. xi 

CHAPTER IX. 
First and Last Town Meeting. 

Page 

First meeting May 6, 1850^ Town officers — Salaries — Town 
meetings — Last meeting Nov. 9, 1899 — Final action . . 264 



CHAPTER X. 

City of Melrose. 

Action contemplating change from town to city — Legislative 
action — -Charter granted — First election — Officers elected — 
Second and third elections — Officers elected — License Question 268 



CHAPTER XL 

Town and City Officers. 

Provisions of city charter — Town moderators — Gould testimo- 
nials — List of selectmen — Town and city clerks— Treasurers — 
Collectors — Auditors — -Town and City counsel — Sinking fund 
commissioners — Registrars of voters — Members of Congress 
— Senators — Representatives- — Other officers . . . .277 



CHAPTER XIL 

Spot Pond Water Works. 

Spot Pond Water Company franchise — Commissioners — Contract 
for works — List of water bonds — Sinking fund — Franchise 
damages — High service system — Metropolitan water system — 
Town action — Settlement correspondence 290 

CHAPTER Xin. 

Sewerage. 

Metropolitan sewerage system act — Town action — Sewer com- 
missioners — Sewer bonds — Table of sewers built — Cost ap- 
portionment — ■ Cost of sewer system — Miles constructed — 
Sinking fund — Annual payments 3°' 



xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Drainage and Health. 

Page 
The Dyer dam trouble — Town action — Legislative action, 1 869 

— County commissioners' hearings — No damages awarded — 
Spot and Ell pond brooks widened and deepened — Further 
town action — Correspondence — Legislative action invoked — 
Surface drainage system instituted — Board of Health estab- 
lished — Members — Good health of Melrose . . . .307 

CHAPTER XV. 

Parks and Boulevards. 

Home Association lands— The Melrose Common — Park com- 
missioners elected — Barry Park — Sewall Woods Park — Ell 
Pond Park — New boulevard proposed — Park properties — 
Middlesex Fells 3^8 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Cemeteries. 

The Village Burial Ground — Wyoming Cemetery — Pratt Farm 

— Cemetery trust funds — Jewish Cemetery .... 328 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Young Men's Christian Association. 

The first association — Present one organized — Y. M. C. A. 
Building — Woman's AuxiUary — Fairs 33^ 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Melrose Hospital Association. 

Organization and Ofificers— Fairs — Hospital Sundays — Hospi- 
tal Guild — Hospital Home — Nurses' Home . . .341 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Public Lihrary. 

When and how founded — Franklin Fraternity Gift— Trustees- 
Donations — Bequests — The Carnegie Gift— Site chosen for 
new library 2)y> 



CONTENTS. xiii 

CHAPTKR XX. 

LlTKRARY AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

Page 
The Franklin Fraternity— Shakespeare Club — Woman's Club- 
Highlands Woman's Club — Education Society — Roundabout 
Club — Unit}^ Club — Centennial Club — Avon Club — Melrose 
Lyceum — Amphion Club — Choral societies — Bands — Orches- 
tras— Geraldine Farrar — Walter Emerson . . . -355 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Bibliography. 

Adams — Austin — Babson — Burnham — Dorchester — Drake — 
Eddy — Gooch — Hey wood — Kidder — Leigh ton — Livermore 
— Lockwood — Nash — Noyes — Peck — Pool — Roberts — 
Sewall — Torrey — Wright — Gould — Melrose Bibliography . 367 

CHAPTER XXH. 

Newspapers. 

The Melrose Advertiser — Melrose Journal — Melrose Reporter — 
Free Press — Enterprise 3^3 

CHAPTER XXHL 
Fire and Police Departments. 



388. 



The Old Endeavor Engine— The Grundy Hose Co. — N. D. Blake 
Hose Co. — Gamewell alarm system — Central Fire Station- 
Steam fire engine — Hose companies — Police officers — Police 
association 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

City Hall, Clocks and Seals. 

Cost of hall— Dedication — Flagg Staff — First, second and third 
town clocks — Water Bond seal — Town seals — City seal . 394 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Various Institutions. 

Melrose Savings Bank — Melrose National Bank— Melrose Co- 
operative Bank — Post Offices — Street railroads — lelegraph 
— Telephone — Street lights — Electric light plant — Pounds — 
Field drivers — Fence viewers— Stone crushers — Drinking 
fountains "* 



xiv CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Charitable and Improvement Associations. 

Page 

Melrose Charitable Association — Board of Associated Charities 

— Melrose Improvement Society — Highlands Improvement 
Association 411 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Anniversaries. 

The 50th Anniversary — looth Anniversary — Maiden's 250th An- 
niversary — Old Home week — Dedication soldiers' monument .415 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Temperance Matters. 

Early action — Siloam Temple of Honor — Siloam Social Temple 

— Woman's Christian Temperance Union — St. Mary's Catho- 
lic Total Abstinence Society — Early votes of Maiden . . 425 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Societies — Associations — Clubs. 

Freemasons — Odd Fellows — Daughters of Rebekah — Athletic 
Club — Melrose Club — Highland Club — The Stone Fort — 
Bellevue Golf Club — Daughters of the American Revolution 

— Daughters of the Revolution — Sons and Daughters of Maine 
— Amateur Gardeners' Society — Boys' Brigade — Fraternal and 
benevolent societies . 431 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Political. 

Australian ballot — Precincts and wards — Parties — Union League 

— Municipal League — Public Franchise League . . . 446 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Miscellaneous. 

Widening of Main Street — List of signers — Eleanor Brown 
Toothaker Fund — -Memorial services- — The Stars and Stripes 

— Curfew bell — " 49ers " — Slavery — • Revolutionery incidents 

— The Maiden Beacon — Action concerning tea — Recruiting 
committee — Old customs — Addenda 450 

APPENDIX. 

A. Act OF Incorporation 477 

B. Report OF Adjustment Committee 478 

C. Act to Annex part of Stoneham to Melrose . . 482 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR, with autograph signature, Frontispiece. 

Page 

THE CASCADE. From plate in Metropolitan Park Commission- 
ers' Report of 1903, by permission, facing 26 

SPOT POND BROOK CASCADE. From photograph by Archie 

B. Mcllwraith 27 

THE GOULD HOMESTEAD, at Spot Pond. From sketch by 

Miss Hannah Lynde 34 

SPOT POND — 1876. From photograph by E. C. Swain, facing . 34 

SPOT POND — 1902. From Metropolitan Commissioners' Report, 35 

PLAN OF MALDEN, by Peter Tufts, Jr., 1795. reduced. By per- 
mission of Deloraine P. Corey 5° 

ENSIGN THOMAS LYNDE HOMESTEAD— 1670. From pho- 
tograph by Dr. John Dike 61 

BOSTON RUBBER SHOE COMPANY'S WORKS. From plate 

kindly furnished by the Company 67 

VIEWS IN PINE BANKS PARK. From plate of the New 

England Magazine ^° 

OLD CORN, OR SAMP MILL. From photograph by Archie B. 

Mcllwraith ^9^ 

WARREN LYNDE HOMESTEAD. From photograph by Henry 

Lynde 72 

JOSEPH LYNDE HOMESTEAD. From photograph by Walter 

C. Stevens 73 

JOHN LYNDE HOMESTEAD. From photograph by Robert J. 

Chute 74 

OLD JOHN GREEN HOMESTEAD. From daguerreotype, kind- 
ness Dexter Pratt 92 

PLATTERS AND WINE GLASSES. From photograph by Rev. 

Edwin C. Bolles, D. D 93 

PARLOR AND CORNER BUFFET. From photograph by Archie 

B. Mcllwraith, 97 

OLD AMOS UPHAM HOUSE. From photograph by Dr. John 

T->-1 . . .Ill 

Dike 

INTERIOR OF AMOS UPHAM HOUSE. From photograph by 

Mrs. Addie K. Robinson, "3. 



X V i ILL US TRA TIONS. 

Page 
JESSE UPH AM HOUSE. From photograph by Dr. John Dike . 115 
DOLLY UPHAM HOUSE. From photograph by William R. 

Lavender jjg 

OLD HOWARD HOUSE. From photograph by Robert J. Chute 119 
PRATT FARM HOMESTEAD. From photograph by kindness of 

Sidney H. Buttrick j2i 

RICHARDSON HOUSE AND TOWER. From photograph by 

Walter L. Wedger jjs 

VIEW CORNER FRANKLIN AND GREENWOOD STREETS. 

From photograph by Walter L. Wedger 126 

EZRA VINTON HOMESTEAD. From photograph, kindness of 

Miss Sarah A. Chever J27 

INTERIOR OF EZRA VINTON HOUSE. From photograph by 

Mrs. Addie K. Robinson . . . . . , . .128 

THE CLEFT BOULDER. From photograph by Archie B. Mc- 

Ilwraith j2q 

EZRA WAITE HOUSE. From plate, kindness of Frank A. 

Woodward j,2 

THE EMERSON TAVERN. From drawing in possession of 

Charles P. Lynde j,, 

ABIJAH BOARDMAN HOUSE. From plate, kindness of Frank 

A. Woodward ........... i->c 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND PARSONAGE. From 

plate, kindness of the M. E. Church 140 

ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. From oil paint- 
ing by T. C. Bartholomew 146 

ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. From photograph 

by A. Shepherdson j^g 

BIRTHPLACE OF CHURCH. From plate, kindness of Highlands 

Congregational Church jc6 

HIGHLANDS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. From photo- 
graph by A. Shepherdson jcg 

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. From photograph by William L. 

Kirmes ............ 162 

MELROSE HIGLANDS BAPTIST CHURCH. From photograph 

by A. Shepherdson igr 

MELROSE HIGHLANDS FIRST FREE BAPTIST CHURCH. 

From photograph by A. Shepherdson 167 

FIRvST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. From plate, kindness of 

Charles H. Adams ito 

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH. From photograph by William 

R. Lavender jy^ 

THE MELROSE ABBEY STONE. From photograph by Archie 

B. McUwraith l-g 



ILLUSTRATIONS. xvii 

Page 
UNITARIAN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. From plate, kind- 
ness of the Church . . 179 

vST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH. From photograph by A. 

Shepherdson 182 

THE JENKINS DESK. From photograph Ijy Archie B. McIIwraith 189 

THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE—ou 1053 road 190 

THE OLD HIGH SCHOOLHOUSE. From photograph by Walter 

C. Stevens 192 

FRANKLIN SCHOOLHOUSE. From plate by kindness of the 

School 195 

WASHINGTON SCHOOLHOUSE. From photograph by A. 

Shepherdson ........... 196 

LINCOLN SCHOOLHOUSE. From plate, kindness Charles H. 

Adams ............ 197 

HIGH SCHOOLHOUSE. From photograph by A. Shepherdson 199 
MEDAL OF THE MINUTEMEN OF 1801. From photograph 

by Archie B. McIIwraith 245 

REAR ADMIRAL N. MAYO DYER. From plate, kindness of 

Charles H. Adams 249 

DYER SWORD AND SCABBARD. From photograph by Mrs. 

Addie K. Robinson . 250 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC BADGE. From plate, 

kindness of U. S. Grant Post 4 257 

THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. From photograph by Archie 

B. McIIwraith 263 

THE LAST BOARD OF SELECTMEN. From plate, kuulness 

of Charles H. Adams 266 

THE CHARTER PEN. From photograph l)y A. Shepherdson . 270 
HON. LEVI S. GOULD. From photograph by Elmer Chiikering, 272 
HON. JOHN LARBABEE. From photograph by A. Shepherdson, 274 
TOWN TESTIMONIALS TO HON. LEVI S. GOULD From 

photographs, kindness of Mr. Gould ...... 279 

THE RAVINE ROAD. From photograph by Archie B. McIIwraith 324 
THE V. M. C. A. BUILDING. From photograph by William L. 

Kershaw 337 

MELROSE HOSPITAL. From plate, kindness of Charles H. 

Adams ........•••• 343 

THE AMPHION CLUB. From photograph by Elmer Chickering, 364 

HON. DANIEL W. GOOl H 37° 

MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE 373 

HON. SAMUEL E. SEWALL. From plates, kindness of Charles 

H. Adams 379 



XVlll 



ILLUSTRA TIONS. 



OLD ENDEAVOR ENGINE. From a daguerreotype in possession 

of Fire Department 389' 

THE CENTRAL FIRE STATION. From photograph by A. 

Shepherdson 391 

CITY HALL. From photograph by Archie B. Mclwraith . . 395 

FIRST TOWN SEAL 399 

SECOND TOWN SEAL 400 

WATER BOND SEAL 401 

CITY SEAL 401 

THE SOUVENIR PLATE. From plate, kindness of Deloraine P. 

Corey 421 

MASONIC TEMPLE 433 

HOME OF THE MELROSE CLUB 436- 

HIGHLAND CLUB HOUSE. From plates, kindness of Charles 

H. Adams 437 

THE STONE FORT. From photograph, kindness of Charles E. 

French 438 

THE FIRST MALDEN PIANO 475 



FACSIMILES. 

Original report of running Stoneham and Maiden bounds 

Vote concerning Division of the Commons. 

Assessors' Report for Melrose in 1849, reduced 

Petition of Ensign Thomas Lynde 

Receipt of Ensign Thomas Lynde's heirs 

Page from Rev. Joseph Emerson's Sermon 

Page of Melrose Advertiser, reduced 



16 

la 
21 
46 

63 

64 
384 



AUTOGRAPHS. 



William Bogle . 
Gov. John Winthrop 
Ensign Thomas Lyndt- 
Joseph Lynde . 
Joseph Lynde, son 
Col. Joseph Lynde 
Benjamin Lynde 
John Lynde 
William Sprague 
William McKinlev 



Page 




Page 


36 


Richard Sprague 


80 


43 


John Sprague 


88 


61 


John Upham 


108 


66 


Lieut. Phineas Upham 


109 


66 


Phineas Upham, son 


no 


7' 


Thomas Vinton . 


122 


72 


Nathaniel Jenkins, Jr. 


189 


73 


Robert Gerry 


191 


. 79 


Ulysses S. Grant 


255 


. 363 


Last Board of Selectmen . 


267 



ESCUTCHEONS. 



Melrose Club 

Sons and Daughters of Maine 



435 Knights of Columbus , . 444 
442 Knights of Pythias , . 445 



CHAPTER I. 

EARLY EXPLORATION. 

ONE of the many \0yas4es of the intrepid and heroic 
naviqator. Captain John Smith, was made in 1614, when 
he first \isited the New England coast. He sailed from 
London, in the month of April, with two ships and forty-five 
men. The object of the voyage was, "to take Whales, for 
which we had one Samuel Cramton, and diners others expert 
in that facultx', and also to make tryalls of a Myne of Gold 
and Copper; if those failed, Fish and Furs were then our refuge 
to make our selues sauers hovvsoeuer.'"^ 

Not meeting with much success, and finding "this Whale- 
fishing a costl)' conclusion," and filled with his usual spirit of 
exploration, he says: "Whilst the Sailors fished, myself with 
eight others of them that might best bee spared," ranged up 
and down the coasts of INIaine and Massachusetts, "in a small 
boat," \isiting the \arious harbors and rivers. During this 
time, he continues: "I was \-p one riuer fortie miles, crossed 
the mouths of many, whose heads are reported to be great 
Lakes." When he entered Boston Harbor, he says: "I tooke 
the fairest reach in this Hay for a ri\-er, whereupon I called it 
Charles Ri\er, the name of our Royall King Charles. "- 

How far inland, around the Charles, Mystic and Maiden 
Rivers, Captain .Smith penetrated is not known. He ma}' have 
visited our pleasant \alle\- and its surrounding hills, but he has 
made no record of such an event. Without doubt he traversed 
a goodly portion of the territory of Charlestown and Maiden, 
as three months were occupied in these travels and explora- 
tions. This is abundantly e\'idenced l)\- the enthusiastic ac- 
count of what he had discovered, and the minute description 
of the country and its productions, which he had seen, and 

^ Smith, 77/1? General Historie ^ Sniitb, The True Travels, Ad- 

of New England, 1606-1624, Arber ventures, and Observations of Cap- 
Edition, 697. tain f oh n Smith, Arber Edition. 949. 



2 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

which he \\rote in i6i6, after his return to London; and also 
by the fact that he constructed a ma}:) of the region he then 
visited, which he presented to Charles I. In this Descript'uvi of 
New Eng/a)id, he sa>'s: 

And then the Countrie of Massachusetts, which is the Paradise of all 
those parts. For heere are many lies all planted with corne, groues, 
mulberries, saluage gardens, and good harbours. . . . And of all the 
foure parts of the world that 1 haue yet seene not inhabited, could I 
haue but means to transport a Colonic, I would rather hue here than 
anywhere : and if it did not maintaine it selfe, were wee but once indif- 
ferently well titted, let vs starue. . . . there is victuall to feede vs, 
wood of all sorts to build Boats, Ships, or Barks; the fish at our 
doores ; pitch, tarre, masts, yards, and most other necessaries onely for 
making? And here are no hard Landlords to racke vs with high rents, 
or extorted fines to consume us ; no tedious pleas in law to consume vs 
with their many years disputations for Listice ; no multitudes to occa- 
sion such impediments to good orders, as in popular States. So freely 
hath God and his Maiesty bestowed those blessings on them that will 
attempt to obtaine them, as here euery man may be master and owner 
of his owne labour and land: or the greatest part in a small time. If 
hee haue nothing but his hands, he may set \'p his trade : and by in- ' 
dustrie quickh- grow rich ; spending but halfe that time wel, which in 
England we abuse in idlenes. worse or as ill. 

Again he says: 

\\'e found the people in those parts \-er\- kinde. but in their fury no 
lesse valiant; for vpon a quarrell. we fought with forty or fifty of them, 
till they had spent all their Arrowes, and then we tooke six or seuen of 
their Canowes. which towards the euening they ran.somed for Beuer 
skinnes. 

Other naxigators had \isitccl our Massachusetts coast before 
this. In 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold came to Massachusetts 
Bay, entered Boston Harbor, and then landed on Cape Cod, 
which he named and explored. He afterwards made an at- 
tempt at a settlenu'Ut on Llizabeth Island, uow Cutt_\'hunk-, 
but it was soon abandoned. Martin Bring, another Lnglish 
navigator, \-isited the New I^ngland coast in 1603, exphu-ing 
man}' of its ri\ers and iidets. There is exidence that he 
N'isited the region of Plymouth, but none I hat he enti-red 
Boston Harbor. He landed on, and named the group of 
islands Martin's Vine^'ard, afterwards ccM'rupted to Martha's 
\'ine\-ard. 



EA RL Y EX PL OR A TION. 3 

After Priiig's visit Samuel cic Chanijjlain cntcrecl Boston 
Harbor, in 1605, and anchored on the westerly side of Noddle's 
Island, now East Boston. He saw and entered Charles River, 
which he called Ri\er dii Guast. As this expedition was so 
short a time in the harbor, probably no inland exploration was 
undertaken, but the sliores and islands of the harbor were 
visited. 

Still other navigators and explorers had been to our New 
England shores, landing on the islands, and travelling over the 
country surrounding Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bav. 

The first explorers of our continent were the Northmen. 
Leif Eriksen, in the \ear lOOO, was the first European to travel 
the great mainland southwest of Greenland, and the first to ex- 
plore the territory of Massachusetts, which he called \'inland. 
The beautiful statue of this Northman, by Anne Whitney, on 
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, commemorates the discover\- 
of the continent of America by this hardy race of explorers. 
And within a few years there has been tliscovered on the banks 
of the Charles Ri\er, what has been claimed to be "the site of 
Fort Norumbega, occupied for a time by the Bretons, some 
four hundred years ago, and as many years earlier still built 
and occupied as the seat of extensi\e fisheries, and a settle- 
ment by the Northmen." •"■ 

Massachusetts Bay had been \isited by other explorers be- 
sides those already named, and pre\'ious to the }-ear 1600; 
among them Gilbert, Raleigh, and \'errazano; the latter as 
early as 1524. From the topographical descriptions contained 
in a letter from X'errazano, dated July, 1524, it is seen that he 
sailed along the coast from North Carolina to the Penobscot 
Ri\er, in Maine, \'isiting many of the inter\ening harbors, and 
exploring the adjoining territorw* 

And in the year 1542, the French explorer, jean AUfonsce 
de Saintonge, was the first to explore in detail the shores of 

'^ Horsford, T/u- Discovery of the May [1524], passed to the south of 

Ancient City of Nontmbci^a. Pub- Martha's Vineyard aud Nantucket, 

lished iu 1890. with numerous il- which he mistook for portions of 

lustrations. the mainland, rounded Cape Cod, 

and went ashore probalily sonie- 

^ " From this harbour of refuj^e where between Nahant and Cape 

[Narragansett Bay] the worthy Ann." l-'iske, The Dutch and 

Florentine set sail on the sixth of Ono/cer Co/onirs in .linrririi \. h^-6. 



4 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Massachusetts Bay; then visiting the islands in Boston Harbor, 
and the adjoining territory. 

But the more important explorations of the territory around 
Boston Harbor were made after 1600. After Gosnold, Pring, 
Champlain and Smith, came the Pilgrims who landed at 
Pl}'mouth in 1620. 

In September, 1621, ten men, under the leadership of Captain 
Myles Standish, with Tisquantum, or Squanto, and two other 
Indians, left Plymouth on a voyage of discovery. They were 
gone four days. They landed, evidently, on the Maiden shore 
of the Mystic Ri\er, and travelled up through Medford: 

On the morrow we went ashore, all but two men, and marched in 
Amies vp in the Countrey. Hauing gone three myles, we came to a 
place where Corne had been gathered, a house pulled downe, and the 
people gone. 5 

They went as far as the residence of the former Chief 
Nanepashemet, parleyed and bartered with some Indians and 
returned to Plymouth, reporting the result of their observa- 
tions. Many other exploring expeditions were made by those' 
who followed the Pilgrims to our shores. 

These were engendered by the different grants made in 
England about this time. The territory of which Melrose 
forms a part, was granted to Robert Gorges bv "The Council 
established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the 
planting, ruling, ordering, and go\-erning of New England in 
America," of which the P^arl of Warwick and Sir Ferdinando 
Gorges, father of Robert, were the most prominent members. 
This Council claimed authority "over the region extending 
from Delaware Ba}- to Newfoundland and westward over un- 
known countries to the great South Sea." This grant to 
Robert Gorges con\-eyed 

all that part of the mainland commonly called Messachusiac. on the 
north-east side of the Bay known by the name of Massachuset, to- 
gether with all the shores along the sea for ten English miles in a 
strait line towards the north-east, and thirty miles into the mainland 
through all the breadth aforesaid. 

^ Henry Martyu Dexter's editiou pany and wrote the account of this 

of MourVs Relation, or Journal of expedition, above quoted, in his 

the Plantation at Plymouth, 127. A Relation of Ovr Voyage to the 

Edward Winslow was of the com- Massachvsetts. 



EA RL Y EX PL OR A TION. 5 

Soon after Robert .^ranted to .j(thn ( )l(lham and John Dorrell 

all the lands \v"nn Mattachusetts Bay betweene Charles River and 
Abousett [Saugus] River, Containfi in lengt by a streight Ij-ne 5 myles 
vp the said Charles River into the maine land north west from the 
border of the s^ Bay including all Creekes and points by the way and 
3 myles in length from the mouth of the foresaid river of Abousett V[y 
into the maine land \pon a streight lync S: \\": including all Creeks 
and points, and all the lajid in bredth and length betweene the fore- 
said Rivers, w''' all p'rogatives Ryall Mynes excepted. 

March 4, 1628-9, a royal charter was issued to the "Goxernor 
and Company of the Mattachusetts Bay in New En^dand. one 
bod\- politicjue and corporate in deed, fact, and name." 

Under the authority of the grant from the Council for New England, 
and while negotiations for the royal charter were in progress. John 
Endicott, a gentleman of Dorsetshire and one of the original grantees, 
sailed in the ship "Abigail," Ciauden. master, from the little harbor of 
Weymouth, with a small company, and arrived at Naumkeag. Sep- 
tember 6, 1628. Others had preceded him and were seated along the 
shore from Cape Ann to Scituate. Among these were Roger Conant. 
Peter Palfrey, John Balch and John Woodbury at Naumkeag. the 
Mavericks at Noddle's Island and \\'innisimmet, Thomas W'alford at 
Mishawum, David Thompson at Neponset or Thompson's Island, 
William Blackstone at Shawmut, and John Bursley and William Jeffrey 
at \\'essaguset. Some of these had been followers of Robert Gorges 
and had scattered in fa\"orable trading places around the Bay ; others 
were single adventurers or perhaps agents for those who claimed lands 
by former grants. Besides these "the mad Bacchanalian." Thomas 
Morton, was still at Merry-Mount, and a gathering of fishermen and 
traders had become a permanent settlement at Nantasket.'' 

The next year man\- other settlers came to Salem, amoni( 
them Ralph, Richard and W illiam Sprague, sons of Edward 
Sprague of Upwa}-, in Dorsetshire. Soon after arri\•in.i,^ these 
brothers, with several others, with the approbation of Goxernor 
Endicott, went on an exploriiiLj- expedition, in a westerly 
direction, traversing- the inter\-enin<^ territory between Salem 
and Charlestown; thus jjassing through and examining on the 
way, portions of Lynn, Saugus, Melrose, INIalden and Medtord; 
fording three rixers, Saugus, Maiden and Mystic, liefore reach- 
ing their destination, Mishawam, now Charlest(n\n. Ri'turning 

^ Corey, Hislory of ISIaldcii, 18, 19. 



6 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

the Sprague brothers remained in Salem but a short time; for 
they soon after retraced their steps and settled in Charlestown, 
and were among those referred to in a letter written in 1629, 

by Rev. Francis Higginson.' 

* 

There are in all of vs both old and new planters about three 
hundred, whereof two hundred of them are settled in Neihumkek, now 
called Salem : and the rest have planted themselves at Masathulets 
Ba}', beginning to build a towne there which wee doe call Cherton, or 
Charles Towne. "^ 

As soon as Gow John Winthrop arri\'ed at Salem, June 12, 
1630, other explorations into the interior began. Five days 
later, he says in his Jcnniial : 

We went to Mattachusetts to find out a place for our sitting down. 
We went up Mistick River about six miles. 

After a few days more of observation, he writes to his son 
John, in England, under date of 

Charlton, Jul}^ 23, 1630. 
For the country itself I can discern little difference between it and 
our own. \\'e have had only two days, which I have observed more 
hot than in England. Here is as good land as I have seen there, but 
none so bad as there. Here is sweet air, fair rivers, and plenty of 
springs, and water better than in England. Here can be no want of 
anything to those who bring means to raise out of the earth and sea.-' 

Higginson seemed as well pleased with the air as was 
Winthrop, as is evidenced by the oft-used quotation from his 
New Engiaiicfs Plantation, "A sup of New England's aire is 
better than a whole draught of Old England's ale." 

Other enthusiastic commendations were written to the home 
friends in England, by Hutchinson, Graves and others. Hig- 
ginson states that in one place might be seen "thousands of 
acres of ground as good as need to be and not a tree in the 
same." 

The general appearance of the country was not entirely that of " an 
uncouth wilderness;" for a pleasant feature which struck the early 

' Further details concerning the "* Hit;ginsou, in Forceps Tracts, 

Spragues and their history are vol. i. 

given in the chapter, "Old Fanii- '' Winthrop, Life and Letters of 

lies and Homesteads. " Jolm Wiiitfn op, ii. 43. 



EARLY EXPLORATION. 7 

comers was the extended and frecjuent areas of open lands around the 
margins of the marshes and meadows and upon the phiins. — lands 
ready for the plough and tillage without much labor.'" 

Thomas Graves wrote home to I^ni^land: 

It is very heautifull in open lands, mixed with goodly woods, and 
again open plaines, in some places five hundred acres, some places 
more, some lesse, not so much troublesome for to cleere for the plough 
to goe in. no place barren, but on the tops of the hils: the grasse and 
weedes grow up to a man's face, in the lowlands and bv fresh rivers 
aboundance of grasse and large meddowes without any tree or shrubbe 
to hinder the sith." 

These open lands were accounted ffir l)\- Thomos Morton as 
follows: 

The Salvages are accustomed to set fire of the C'ountrv in all places 
where they come, and to burne it twize a yeare, viz : at the Spring, and 
the fall of the leafe. The reason that mooves them to doe so, is be- 
cause it would other wise be so overgrowne with underweedes that it 
would be all a coppice wood, and the people would not be able in any 
wise to passe through the Country out of a beaten path. And this 
custome of firing the Country is the meanes to make it passable : and 
by that meanes the trees growe here and there as in our parks: and 
makes the Country very beautifull and commodious. '- 

There were many other descriptions of our New Hngland 
territory sent home to England by these earl\' achenturers, 
some of which seem to us of today somewhat oxerdrawn and 
too enthusiastic; but none of these writers were so thorough 
and enthusiastic as was William Wood, who, after his return to 
England in 1634, gives a complete and detailed history of this 
whole territory. His work was entitled, ''New Englamis Pros- 
pect. A true, lively, and experhnentall description of that part of 
America, coiiintonly called Neiv England: discovering the state of 
that Countrie, both as it stands to onr neiv-co)ne English Planters; 
and to the old Native Inhabitants. Laying doivne that which may 
both enrich the knoivledge of the mind-travelling Reader, or benefit 
the future Voyager. ' ' 

The Hon. E. Moody Boyiiton pidDJished an exact reprotluc- 
tion of this book in 1898, and in h;s introduction he says: 

^^' Corey, History of Maiden, 21. '-' Morton, Xcic Em^lis/i Canuan, 

" jl/assac/iKsetts, Historical Col- 52, 54. 
lections, i. 124. 



8 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

This book, righth' entitled T/ie Prospects of Neiv England, contains 
the first description of the prospects, surroundings, settlements and 
territor}' of the Massachusetts Ba}^ Colony at the period when its 
principal towns and cities were located. He remained four years, 
from 1629, to August 15th, 1633, when he sailed for London in the 
Hopewell. 

In the second part of this work Wood gives a complete 
description of the Indian tribes then inhabiting- this region. 
It has besides, the first map of '"The SoutJi Part of N civ-Eng- 
land, as it is Planted this Yean\ i6j4f wherein he locates the 
^'arious rivers, settlements, etc. Herein is shown our " Spott 
pond," " Misticke pond," " Horn ponds," and others. 

As Mr. Boynton says: "To those who highly regard the first 
steps in the founding of a great nation this little work is of 
rare value and historical interest." 

The exaggerations of the first comers, with other causes, added to 
the tide of immigration, which was very much increased in 1630, and 
Cambridge, Boston. Dorchester, and other places received their first 
inhabitants. The disappointments and sufferings of those who were 
not well prepared to meet the hardships and dangers of a pioneer's 
life were, no doubt, as strongly set forth to their friends in England as 
had been the attractions and advantages of the country before. As a 
consequence, in part, immigration nearly ceased, and some returned to 
England. But after a }'ear or two ship after ship continued to arrive 
in the liarbors of Salem and Boston : and growing communities of 
sturdy Puritans attested at once the troubles which had befallen the 
mother land, and the permanence of the refuge which Providence had 
opened upon the bleak shores of Massachusetts Bay. A new empire 
had been founded ; and upon a narrow strip of countr}-. between 
unknown forests and the barren sands and sombre nx^ks of an unkind 
coast, a handful of earnest men and women, in tlie language of the 
time, "chosen vessels" and "precious seed." began to work out that 
problem of freedom which forecasts the coniing (rlory of the Ages. 
From the green lanes and ancient towns of Essex, full of the traditions 
and as.sociations of a thousand years, to the tangled forests and the 
wild shores of a new world : from the old English homes to the land 
which God had prepared for the chosen seed whose fruitage was to be 
a great nation, — these are to us of the nineteenth century but the 
turning of a leaf; but to the men and women of i(i2S. a stormy waste 
of waters and many weeks of anxiety and distress, of weeping and 
praying, lay between the homes of their childhood and the unknown 
land where they were to watch and work and la\- their bones to rest.''' 

1-^ Corey, History of Maldoi, 28, 29. 



EARLY EXPLORATION. 



9 



Two large and powerful tribes held sway in this region when our 
fathers landed, — the Massachusetts and the Pawtuckets. The re- 
nowned sachem of the Pawtuckets was Nanepashemit. who took up 
his abode on the Mystic River in 1615. and was killed there three or 
foiir years later. He was the father of Sagamore John of the Mystic, 
Sagamore James of L}nn. and Sagamore George of Salem. George 
finally filled the place of his father, and was sachem of the Pawtuckets. 
During the residence of Nanepashemit in Medford. his lodge was on 
Rock Hill, where he could best watch the approach of his enemies. 
. . . The territory for many miles round Mystic Ri\er was owned and 
occupied by small tribes or detachments, each hax'ing its own head. 
Medford and some of the adjoining territory belonged to Sagamore 
John, whose Indian name was Monohagnaham. and who. was friendly 
to our ancestors, and gave our fathers permission to settle, and after- 
wards apprised them of premeditated attacks by unfriendly Indians.'-* 

Sagamore John had his headquarters in Maiden, his home 
beint^- in the southern part of the town, now Ex'erett, "upon a 
creek, which runs from the marshes between Powder- Horn 
Hill and Winnesimmet. into the M\stic Ri\-er at Sweeetzer's, 
or Beacham's, Point." ^"^ 



i-* Brooks, History of IMedJovd, 
91, 92. 

^^ This creek is now kuowu as 
Island End River, or Chelsea Creek . 
The point has been known as Van 
Voorhis, and Wormwood. — some- 
times corrupted into Wormal's 
Point. For a complete history of 
the various tribes of Indians that 
were found in this rejrion bv the 



early settlers, and the policy which 
governed those who "saw in the 
apparent!}' aimless wanderings of 
the Indians no traces of that occu- 
pancy and subjugation of the earth 
which civilization has made a ne- 
cessity and the Scripture enjoins as 
a duty," see the History of ^falden, 
IMassachusetts, 1633-1JS5, by Delo- 
raine P. Corey, pp. 29-53, chapter, 
" Discoverers and Indians." 



CHAPTER II. 

TERRITORY. 

MALDEN. 

ORIGINALLY the territory of Melrose belonged to the 
town of Charlestown, which was settled in 1629, and 
was a far more extensix^e region than that now belong- 
ing to it. It then included what is now Somerv'ille, Maiden, 
Everett, VVoburn, Burlington, Melrose, Stoneham, a small part 
of Cambridge, West Cambridge and Reading, and a large 
part of Medford. Town after town was taken from it, grad- 
uall}' diminishing its territory until it became the smallest 
town, territorially, in the State. Woburn, comprising Bur- 
lington, was taken from it and incorporated in 1642; Mai- 
den, in 1649; Stoneham, in 1725; Somerville, in 1842. In 
1717 and 1725, a large tract called "North Charlestown," 
was set off, part to Maiden and part to Reading. In 1754, 
another tract, including several large farms, was set off to 
Medford, and now forms the eastern part of that city. A 
tract was set off to Cambridge in 1802, and to West Cam- 
bridge in 1842. Thus was Charlestown, now a district of 
Boston, reduced to its present limits. 

Very early in the history of Charlestown, differences of 
opinion connected with the boundaries of the different towns 
arose, which necessitated a settlement by the General Court; 
and at "A Court, holden att Boston," July 2, 1633, M\-stic 
Side, or Mystic Field [now Maiden] was granted to Charles- 
town, it being then ordered 

That the ground lyeing betwixte the North RyV [sometimes called 
" Three Myle lirooke."' now Maiden River] & the creeke on the north 
side of M' Mauacks, & soe vpp into the country, shall belonge to the 
inhabitants of Charlton. 

As " N])]) into the country" did not determine how far the 
line should go, another order passed "Att the Gen''all Court, 
holden att Newe Towne, March 3, 1635," was more definite: 



TERRITORY. 11 

Ordered, That Charles Towne bounds shall run ei,i,dit myles into 
the country from their meeteinji;' howse, if noe other bt)unds intercept, 
reserueinj"; the pprietie of ffernies j^raunted to John Winthrop Esq., M"" 
Nowell, M"" Cradocke lS: M"" Wilson, to the owners thereof, as also ffree 
inijresse ^: e,t;resse for the serv's & cattell of the said gent. iV- cofiion 
for their cattell. on the backeside of M^ C'radocks ffernie. 

In 1836, a commission consisting" of Abraham ralnu-r, \\il- 
liam Cheeseborou.^di and William Spencer, decided and deter- 
mined the bounds as follows : 

Agreed by vs. whose names are vnder written, that the bounds 
betweene Boston iS: Charles Towne, on the noreast .syde of Misticke 
Ryver, shall run from the mked tree vpon the rocky hill above 
Rumney Marshe, neere the w ritten tree nore-norewest vjDon a straight 
lyne by a meridean compas vpp into the countrie. 

Corey, in his History of Maldoi, in Samuel Adams Drake's 
History of Middlesex County, iSSo, saws : 

This line, running from near " Black Ann's Corner "" in Linden, 
has never been changed, and is still the eastern limit of Maiden and 
Melrose. The rocky hill, called in 1635 •' a point of rock, on the side 
of the high way to Mistick,"' may still be recognized, and is a promi- 
nent feature in the landscape; but the "marked tree," an ancient pine, 
after having been a landmark more than a century, disappeared many 
years ago. 

This boundary (luestion is a.^ain referred to in the Charles-^ 
town records of 1638, as follows : "the Gen" Court had setled 
theire Bounds by L^n-antinij;- eight miles from the old Meeting- 
house into the Contr\' XtM'thwest Xorthrly." 

A year later Charlestown received the following deed from 
the original owners. 

Of this Indian deed of our territory- given by Squaw Sachem 
and Webcowet, recorded in Middlesex Count\- Deeds, i. igo, 
Corey, in his History of Maiden, p. 34, says : 

In 1639 the two signed a deed by which they conveyed to the 
inhabitants of Charlestown, with some reservations, all the lands 
which the Court had granted them, including the bounds of the 
present cities of Maiden and Kverett, and the town of Melrose. 
This document is of interest to us as being the hrst and only con- 
veyance of the aboriginal title in the territory which we occupy. 
The consideration, or " sattisfaction," proves how little the Indians 
valued their rights and how cheaply the settlers quieted their claims. 



12 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The I 5 ''3 of the 2. mt; 1639. 

Wee Web Cowet & Squaw Sachem do sell vnto the Inhabitants of 
the Towne of Charlestowne, all the land with in the lines granted 
them by the Court (excepting the farmes and the ground, on the West 
of the two great Ponds called misticke ponds, from the South side of 
mr Nowells lott, neere the \'pp'' end of the Ponds, \-nto the little run- 
net that Cometh from Capt Cookes mills which the Squaw reser\-eth to 
their vse, for her life, for the Jndians to plant and hunt vpon, and the 
weare above the Ponds, they also reserve for the Jndians to fish at 
whiles the Squaw liveth, and after the death of Squaw Sachem shee 
cloth leave all her lands from m"' Mayhues house [Cradock house on 
east bank of the M^-stic River] to neere Salem to the present Gov- 
erno'', m'' Jn" Winthrop Sen'', m'' Increase Nowell, m'' Jno Wilson, 
m'' Edward Gibons to dispose of, and all Jndians to depart, and for 
sattisfaction from Charlestowne, wee acknowledge to have received in 
full sattisfaction twenty and one coates ninten fathom of \\'ampon, & 
three bushels of come. In witnes whereof we ha\e here vnto sett o^ 
hands, the day and yeare above named. 

the marke of Squa Sachem, m^ 
the marke of Web cciwet. m. 
Subscribed in the 
p^sence off 

Jno HUMPHREV 

Robert Feake. 
This is to testifie that the aforenamed purchase was made at the 
charges of the Jnhabitants of Charlestowne. and to their vse, and for 
so much as lyeth with in their limitts. we do accordingly resigne, and 
yeld vp all our interest therein to the vse of the said towne. according 
to the trust reposed in vs. lot'' m'.' iStii, 1639. 

Jno Winthrop Gondii''. 
Jncrease Nowell. 
Jn'o Wilson. 
Entred tS: Recorded. 23111 ,S nv; 1656. 

By Thomas Dan forth Recorder. 

Nothwithstanding the near presence of the natixes, the people of 
Charlestown began at a very early period to push out into the adjacent 
country, and within and without the borders of that town to settle 
where\er they could find land suited to their needs. New colonists 
were constanth' arri\ing from England, and during the first ten years 
after the arrival of Winthrop it is estimated that four thousand families 
had reached the shores of New England, including more than twenty- 
one thousand persons. The}' had come from a countrj' where the 
ownership of land was a prize which only the wealthy were able to 
secure, and the almost limitless bounds of the western world attracted 
a continued wave of emigration, with liberal homesteads and farms, 



TERRITORY. 13 

almost free of cost, as the expected rewards of their enterprise. The 
eagerness displayed in our own day by the settlers of Oklahoma and 
other newly-opened Territories to possess advantageous sites for 
homes, finds a parallel in the days of our fathers, when almost for 
the asking the poor English laborer, with only sufficient means to 
secure a passage across the Atlantic, could become the lord of lands 
on a footing, so far as ownership was concerned, with the more 
favored in his English home.' 

In a few years after the settlement of Charlestown, the 
inhabitants from that town and other sources, bej^an to cross 
over the Mystic River, and settle at ]\I>'stic Side; it was thus 
known as earl)- as 1634; and when Thomas Coytmore, "a right 
godly man," built a dam, and soon after a mill at " Black 
Rock," on "Three Myie Brook," near the present center of 
Maiden, quite a settlement had been established ; and, owing 
to their distance from Charlestown proper, very soon the 
inhabitants began to think of forming a new town, and hav- 
ing taken the necessary steps, on May 11, 1649, the General 
Court passed the following vote : 

In answer to the peticon of seull inhabitants of Misticke side their 
request is graunted, viz., to be a distinct towne of themselves, ^: the 
name thereof to be Maulden. 

Concerning the formation of this town. Captain Edward 
Johnson, of VVoburn, in his Wondcr-ivorking Providence of Siivis 
Saviour in Neiv England, published in London, in 1654, sa^•s 
that Maiden was settled 

by certain persons, who issued out of Charlestown. and indeed had 
her whole structure within the bounds of this more elder Town, being 
severed by the broad spreading river of Mistick the one from the 
other, w-hose troublesome passage caused the people on the North 
side of the river to plead for Town priviledges within themselves^ 
which accordingly was granted them ; the soyl is very fertile, but 
they are much straitened in their bounds, yet their neerness to the 
chief Market Towns, makes it the more comfortable for habitation. 

Maiden was named after the town of Maldon, England, by 
Joseph Hills and others, who came from that town. "The 
affections of the first })lanters of New^ England still clung, 
as was natural, to the soil of their nativity; and they 
designed, by the names they bestow^ed on the places of their 

1 Davis, History of jVa/dcii, for Lewis' History of Middlesex County, 
1S90. 



14 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

abode, in this land of their adoi:)tion, to keej) ali\-e in their 
breasts the tender associations of home.'"" Mr. Hills was not 
only an early settler in Mx'stic .Side, but a \'er)' prominent 
citizen, and a man of marked ability. He took a \'ery prom- 
inent part in the rexision of the jNlassachusetts laws, in 1648, 
which were first issued in 164 1, as the Body of Liberties by 
Nathaniel Ward, and which became the authorized code of 
la\\s for New England. 

In 1727, Maiden lost (|uile a lari;e tract of territory which 
would now ha\'e formed a part of Melrose had this action 
not ha\-e taken place. A number of families who liwd at the 
extreme northerl>' part, became dissatisfied by lieini^- 

so remote from the Middle of the Town, that they are under ,>;reat 
Inconveniences & Ditlficulties to attend the pul^lick Worship there, cV 
their Cavil i.\: Military Duties in the Said Town cV that they ly much 
nearer to Reading". 

The\' therefore made application In- ])t(itiim, to be annexed 
to that town; and at that time the town ot ReadiuL;- \-oted: 

That ujjon the jjetition of our nei.uhbors of North end of Maiden, 
Richard I'pham and William dreen rei)resentinj;- them, we will j^etition 
the (jeneral Court that a number of our ueiuhbors of North Knd of 
Maiden be set to Readin.^-.-' 

The town of Maiden Noted, .May 2J, 1727: 

That yt' tenn famel\s \t ha\e i)etioned to be Laid off from this 
Town, unto y^' 'lown of Reding-. ha\e lal)erty to goe to Redini;- with 
there Estates Acordins;- to their petion. 

-Ill ils ])rL-seiit aspect, Maldon New Entiland. . . . Out of thi.s 
retains mam- of the features which ancient IMaldon came in 16:^8, Jo- 
were familiar to that little band of sejdi Hills, a woollen-draper, and 
pil!.,M-iiiis who, aliout the first of with him, or a little later, Jt)hn 
.\l)ril, 1638, sailed down the river Wayte, who married his daui^hter 
in an "Ipswicli Ilye." Its single Mary. . . . These men became 
main street, running about a mile early holders of land in the vicin- 
east and west, and now intersected ity of Wayte's Mount, on Mystic 
by several cross streets, its vener- vSide. . . . The misuse of many 
able churches and halls, the ebbing years, bv substituting Maiden for 
and flowing river washing its an- Maldon, has ])ermanently fixed the 
cieiit wharves, the green fields incorrect ft)rni of the same which 
around, and all those kindly in- we now use. Corey, History of 
fluences which have made Essex Matdcn, 9, 12. 

the garden of Kngland, were often , v.^u.xx, Hhtorv of Rcadino-, 142. 
remembered by wistiul hearts in 



TERRITORY. lo 

The Legislature accortlingly confirmed tlie wishes of both 
parties as follows: 

Resolved. That the Prayer of the Petition be granted. \' that 
the said ten Families & their Estates be annexed to «S: accounted as 
Part of the Town of Reading for the future, according to the Line set 
forth in the Petition ; Any Law, Usage or Custom to the Contrary 
Notwithstanding. Jn Council: Read \- ConcurVl 

Consented to, \\ '" l)i mmkr.^ 

The section thus lost to Maiden shortened the town more than a 
mile, and carried with it some of the wealthiest inhabitants. It is to 
this addition to the limits of the old town of Reading that the town of 
Wakefield owes the peculiar configuration of its southerly portion em- 
bracing the present \illage of Cireenwocxl.'"' 

The names of the ten families thus changing their town 
connections were: William Green, Thomas Upham, Nathaniel 
E\-ans, David Green, John Walton, .Samuel Evans, John K\-ans, 
Richard Upham, .Samuel Howard and Thomas Cireen. In 1734, 
still another tract of the northwestern ])art of Maiden was set 
off, by Legislati\e act, to the town of .'~>t()neham. There was 
a cluster of Green families in this part of the town who were 
also remote from religious ]jri\ileges, and who were not 
embraced in the action of \J2j. A petition to the General 
Court, June Ji, 1734. signed by John Green. Isaac Green, John 
Dexter and Jonas Green of Maiden, and Da\icl Green, Thomas 
Green and Samuel Cireen of Reading, which petition set forth 
"their Difficulty to attend the Public Worship of Cjotl in their 
Towns by Reason of their Remoteness from the meeting 
house; "and praying "That they and their family's and I-'.slates 
may by order of this Court be annexed to the Town of Slone- 
ham." Fa\-orable action was grantetl Dec. Ji, 1734. This 
territory comprised most all of that now known as the Mc-Jrose 
Highlands, and it remained a j^art of .^toneham until 1853, 
when, after much opposition on the }jart of that town, it was 
reunitetl to the territory of Melrose. 

* Cowra/ Co/ii/ A'tio/(/s, xiii, T,22. "^ Corey, History of Ma/drn. ^^)2. 



16 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 






-^•cl <^llf^^ S^J!, ^Oc Y *^a.;f 4^^rr /2. 5^,1^^ M, ,^ ^/6,v, 

t^f^ Of<^— /? *,i<r7- ^ H' --^ (2rT>n>,-^u^ -^yC^-rv *ru^^ '^ArJ/l^x^ 

The Commons. This was an extensive tract of land belong- 
in,<4- to the town of Maiden, embracing about thirty-five hund- 
red acres, which was nearly one-half of the town, as then con- 
stituted. About twenty-three hundred of these acres covered 
all of the eastern part of what is now Melrose, and most of 
what was once the northerly part of Maiden; that portion now 
known as Greenwood. It was the land lying east of Ell Pond, 
and east of Lebanon and Green Streets, extending from a little 
way below Swain's Pond in the south, up into Wakefield, then 
Reading, to Smith's Pond, now called Crystal Lake; and to 
within about half a mile of Reading meeting-house. It was 
"full of statel\- timber." and, say the Charlestown records: 

''The above is a facsimile of the Peter Hay aud Daniel Greeu, Jr., 

report made by the Selectmen of of the running of the bounds be- 

Maklen, Jonathan Barrett, Deacon tweeu Stoneham and Maiden, after 

Thomas Lynde and James Hovey ; this tract had been annexed to 

aud Stoneham, Jonathan Green, Stoneham. 



TERRITORY. 17 

"indeed generally all tlu- country round about was an uncouth 
wilderness." 

It was the home of the Indian and the wild beast. 

We are told that when our ancestors made their settlement at Shaw- 
mut, now Boston, they sent out a number of persons to examine the 
country to the North, who, havin<j searched the first range of hills, 
probably the range near us, then covered with forests, returned and 
reported, that, having reached a mountainous and rocky country, they 
deemed it best to come back, as there was little probability that the 
settlement would ever extend beyond these mountains. ^ 

In the process of time these lands came to be very desirable 
both for woodland and pasturage; and the Town of Maiden 
had been greatly troubled, not only by its own citizens but by 
their "Charlestown neighbors," to whom frequent warnings 
had been given, prohibiting them from thus trespassing, and 
cutting and teaming wood and timber from this common land, 
or in pasturing sheep and cattle. Therefore action was taken 
by the town looking to its preservation and utility'. 

In March, i6S-'4 it was \-oted: 

That no fyrwood shall be feld or cutt \ppon the common this yeare 
ensueing but what is or shalbe lying on the ground on penalt}' of hue 
shillings p"" tree. Excepting on the south syde of the rocks from 
Joseph Wayts house to Lem" Jenkins & from thence on the South^ly 
side the swamp to the Town lyne. 

In 1687 "^ citizen was fined £"3. lo for "carriing and cutting 
timber of the common contrar}' to a Town order ; " and in 1691, 

John green Jn"" Joses Bucknam Se^ Thomas newhall Isak Hill Jacob 
parker thay were chosen as a committ}- to prosecute in a course of law 
any that shall offend by cutting and earring wood of maiden common. 

Action was taken for a division of these "Commons" among 
the freeholders, by the Town, July 12, 1693, when a committee 
was appointed "to Run y line between the common and pro- 
prietors land;" and March 26, 1694: 

The former Coniitie met and l<.un y<^ bounds Round Keedy pond 
ye bounds Are first a great buttenwood tree before Joseph Lines dore. 
and so bounded Round with seuernll trees marked with letter C next 
common. 

And erected seuerall heapes of stons 

The same day Run ye line about Joseph waits plain : and niarkt 
seuerall trees with letter C next ye common. 

' Adams, Bi-Ccntcnnial Book of Maiden, p. 94. 



18 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

ye same day Run ye line Round Swains pond nieddow and marked 
seuerall trees with letter C next ye common : 

ye same daj' ye bounds was Run about wilkesons -land [near Long 
Pond] and marked seuerall trees next ye common with letter C. 

The same day ye bounds was Run about Squiers meddo and marked 
seuerall trees next y^ common with letter C. 

Nov. 20, 1694, a committee consisting of three men, not resi- 
dents of Maiden, was appointed to devise a plan for this 
division of these common lands amono- the inhabitants of Mai- 
den; and it was then also \-oted: "That y* common shall be 
deuided: bottom and top y* is land And wood." 

2iJ^t'^<^i- fn Ji<yn cPY-a^' cj^i-^fn oi -AitVM^ -{^fd^fcrpi^t^c^i^ic np^tulc. 

rf ft^ 4,f c^r.y ^/i^ff^ : Jy^3 ^^ <r^'rt U/^-^ U «<»w 
'^^ ^.u-h^> ^c.,. tf-'^' ^fc^. -^vAr^ ^'/i/^/'-o <r^.M, ^»;; 

That committee made the following report: 

Nov. 26, 1694. Whereas, we Subscribers are Requested or Im- 
powed: by ye inhabitants of Maldon To prescribe a way for y^ deuid- 
ing of their common both Land and wood : — we considering the seuerall 
methods and way of Their Raising of Town Charges for time past: 
first we doe adjug their be a commite chose of Indeferant men To set 
out so much land for i^eipatuall common as they shall see meete. 

2b-. that there be a true Invoice taken of every true proprietors 
estate And twenty pounds aded for the heads of euery free-holder 
according To town vote whather male or famale. 

3'>- then for 5^e Rest of ye common draw lots for equall proportions 
Acording to the Inuoice beginning your lots at }e ^iper end of jour 
common next Reding : at ye southwest corner and so Run dowards in 
two deuisions or more if you see cause. 

Major William Johnson. 
Capt John Smith. 
CAPT John Brown. 

Dec. 25, Deacon John (ireen, John Greenland, Tr\-al New- 
berry, Phineas Upham, Thomas Newhall, Lieutenant Joseph 
Wilson and Henry Green were chosen to proceed with the 
division of the "Commons" according to the direction "of y*^ 
formar commite nameh' those gentillmen That are chosen out 



TERRITORY. 19 

of this town." Many other \otes gi\-ing details for accomplish- 
ing this important matter were passed; among them it was: 

Also agreead upon by ye conimitie y' for y^ deuidin<:j of y^ common 
euery properioters name shall be writ distintl}- : and }' y^ lots be well 
shutied together: And one man chose by y^ town: To draw y" out of 
a bag: and \^ first man y' is drawen shall have y^ first lot in y^ com- 
mon begining as aforsaid And so sucksesiuely as y^ are all drawen To 
the proportion of looo accres and then to proseed in \^ same way and 
method for another looo accres. 

It is also agreead upon by ye commite That there shall be 2 pols in 
breadth between euery Raing of lots for high wais : and that euery 
mans lot shall Run Eighty two pool in leangth for }' end. 

Also that " this comitee hes pouer to improue An artis to lay out 
ye lots," and that John Sargeant Jr., be authorized " To draw y^ out 
of a bag." 

Mr. Corey, who has made a verj' thorough study of these 
"Commons" and their disposition, says: 

The allotment was finally completed; and the record begins as 
follows : 

Recorded May 3-^ 30 : 1695 : An a Greement of the Town of maiden 
In deuiding of The common The tirst deuision begining at the upar 
end next to nathaniell eueness land by Charlstown line: In mannar 
as followeth : y^ lots Runing 82 pool in length. 

This division, which contained nine hundred and thirty-one acres 
and fifty-one poles, was laid out in seven ranges and seventy-four lots. 
It comprised the northern portion of the town between the bounds of 
Boston and Charlestown. The Evans farm of sixty acres, on the 
westerly side of the road, and the woodland, which had been reserved 
for the ministry, on the easterly side, alone parted it from the Reading 
line at Smith's Pond. This tract of common was broken by the Green 
farm, by a piece of land north of L Pond which belonged to the estate 
of Thomas Coytmore as early as 1653, by ten acres of meadow " aboue 
the old cow pen in Mauldon " which Joseph Hills had sold to Henry 
Evans in 1660, and, perhaps, by smaller lots of appropriated land. 
['I'his division extended to our present Howard Street.] 

The second division of the two thousand acres, containing nine 
hundred and forty-two acres and twentj-eight poles, was laid out in 
six ranges and seventy-five lots. [Extending from Howard Street to 
south of Grove Street.] Beginning " by elle ponde," it stretched over 
the highlands towards the Bo.ston line, covering the country east of the 
Reading Road [Main Street] and north of Swain's Pond. [Quite a 
large proportion of this territory is now known as East Side.] Some of 
the ways reserved for passage between the ranges in this division be- 
came highways in time and still exist. [I'orter. L'pham. and Grove 



20 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Streets.] . . . These two divisions comprised the territory known as 
the two thousand acres and contained, together, eighteen hvuidred and 
seventy-three acres and seventy-nine poles, as measured by Mr. Fisk. 
the " artis." 

The third division is described as "The third diuision for the 
Remander of the wood Land one the este sid the mill brook called the 
three hundred ackrs Begining at sargent Skiners Lote and are to rune 
40 poles in length." Its seventj'-four lots embraced three hundred 
and eleven acres ^nid fifty-eight poles of the woodland between Swain's 
Pond and Scadan. [Now known as " South East," and includes the 
high summit of Mount Hood.] 

The balance of these "Commons" now di\-idecl, was on terri- 
tory now Maiden. There were seventy-four proprietors and 
freeholders who shared in this allotment; the names are all 
given by Mr. Core}', in his History of Maiden, pp. 376-7. 

Soon after this division w-as made many of the lots were sold 
to persons who had no interest in the common land, and about 
the year 1700, many of the people who already owned, or now- 
bought, began to build houses and settle upon their lots. 

A piece of land at the eastern end of Ell Pond, where now^ 
stand the ice-houses, was reser\ed for a watering place, and 
for the washing of flax, the material of which the home-made 
clothing of the early inhabitants was made. It appears that 
the abutters began to encroach upon this public water resort, 
and April 17, 1699, Corporal John Green, Phineas Upham, and 
Joseph Floyd were chosen to run 

y*^ bounds and renew }•« marks between proprioters land : and 3-^ 
small peece of common land : adjoining to L pond : which was left for 
convenence of watering. 

Still later, at the annual meeting held March 4, 1765, another 
x'Ote concerning this public privilege was passed: 

It was put to vote to see if the town will give liberty to mr Samuel 
Green and others to run a fence between ell pond and the highway, 
provided they leve a convenient way open for watering of cattle at the 
pond And keep convenient draw bars or a gate for people to pass and 
repass with their teams in the usual place of their going to and from 
said pond with their tlax. .\nd it passed in the affermative. 

MELROSE. 

At the time the Boston and Maine Railroad was completed,, 
the territory of Melrose, then know^n as "North Maiden," and 
earlier as " North End," was very sparsely settled. Very 



TERRITORY. 



21 



soon after it commenced operation. July 4, 1845, people from 
Boston and other places, began to investigate our pleasant 
vale for residences; and in a short time many families had 
here made their homes. The church, business, town and social 
relations were so separated from the centre and main town of 
Maiden, that the citizens began to agitate a separation from 
the mother town, and the setting up of a municipality b\- itself; 
and in 1848, and 1849, ^^'^^^ matter was most earnestly can- 
vassed, and action taken. On March 22, 1849, ^n act was 
reported to the House of Representatives for the incorpora- 
tion of the Town of Melrose, which was passed April 10, 
almost unanimously; but it failed to receive the concurrence 
of the Senate b}- a vote of twenty-seven to three."^ 

Later in this same year, 1849, Maiden, foreseeing that with 
these railroad facilities, and the varied and natural beauty of 
our situation, we should in a very few >'ears become a growing, 
thrift)' and prosperous community, and cherishing the most 
kindly and friendly feelings for their brethren in the north 

part of the town, wisely con- 
cluded to make no further 
objection to such separation; 
and, at a legal meeting of the 
inhabitants of the town of 
Maiden, held Nov. 26, 1849, 
it was voted: 

To choose a committee to view 
and report to the town such line 
as the committee shall think to 
be the proper line between the 
town of Maiden and the pro- 
posed town of Melrose. 

The selectmen were chosen 
to act on this committee; and 
at a town meeting held Dec. 
21, 1849, the selectmen re- 






ayz 



\ 






ported the divisional line which was then adopted and is in 
existence today. The town also \oted at this same meeting, 
to instruct their Representative elect 

* Diary kept by the late Aarou called Melrose — was to be set off 

Green, for 1849. But so thoroughly from Maiden, that assessors were 

convinced was every one that appointed to take the valuation of 

North Maiden — now regularly this part of the town ; and accord- 



22 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

that if the inhabitants of Meh'ose petition tlie Legislature for the divi- 
sion Hne as reported by the Selectmen to advocate the setting off of 
Melrose but if any other line be asked for then to oppose the setting 
off. 

A petition was presented to the Legislature early in 1850, 
by Elbridge Green and others, praying that the northerly part 
of Maiden, which had been called North Maiden for many 
years, be set off and incorporated as a separate town to be 
called Melrose. 

At a town meeting held in Maiden, February 7, 1850, it was 
voted: 

That whereas, a petition had been presented to the Legislature, 
by Elbridge Green and others, praying that the northerlj^ section 
of Maiden may be set off and incorporated as a separate town, to be 
called Melrose, and whereas an order of notice has been issued on 
said petition therefore, Resolved, That we, the citizens of Maiden 
in town meeting assembled, called according to law, to act on said 
order of notice, do hereb}' express our approval of said petition. 

Resolved, That the line of separation petitioned for is a proper line, 
and one that meets our approval, and which, in our opinion, ought to 
be adopted, and the prayer of said petition be granted. 

Resolved, That the representative be, and he is, hereby instructed 
to aid the petition, in all honorable ways, to accomplish the object of 
their petition, keeping always in view the interest of the town in word- 
ing the act of incorporation. 

The Joint Special Committee, in reporting to the Legisla- 
ture, April 27, 1850, among other advantages enumerated 
these: 

This part of the town, which bears the name of Melrose, is separated 
from the other by a natural barrier ; the proposed line of division run- 
ning through a wild, unimproved, and almost uninhabitable territory, 
constituting, in most respects, a far better boundary than a line passing 
through a cultivated and populous region, cutting farms, and sep- 
arating immediate neighbors into different towns. 

The business and social relations of Melrose are not with the other 

ing to this same diary, now iu the rose as appeared iu 1849. A True 
possession of Maurice G. Cochrane, Coppy From Maiden Book. Real 
a grandson of the diarist, they Estate, 336,352 ; Personal Estate, 
commenced their duties May i, of 48,509; Total, $384,861. Number 
that year, and finished May 11. Polls, 272. Aaron Green, S. h. 
The result as given in a written Taylor, W. J. P'arnsworth, asses- 
poster was as follows : sors of Melrose. 
Valuation of the Town of Mel- 



TERRITORY. 23 

portions of Maiden ; it seems to form a distinct community, and, in the 
opinion of the committee, is destined to become a separate town, and 
that a separation would contribute to the convenience, harmony, and 
prosperity of the inhabitants, and would be no injury or disadvantage 
to the remaining part of Maiden. It would leave a fine, pleasant, 
and prosperous town, within full \iew, and in the immediate vicinity 
of Boston, affording- many eligible building sites, and containing num- 
erous valuable farms. 

In accordance with the mutually expressed wishes of the 
inhabitants of both sections, an act was drawn and reported 
to the Legislature, which was adopted; and Melrose was in- 
corporated May 3, 1850. It then had 1,260 inhabitants, and 
an assessed valuation of $483,446.00. 

A committee of three from each town was appointed " to 
make a just and ecjuitable settlement of all the financial 
concerns appertaining to said towns & the property belong- 
ing to the same." Gilbert Hax-en, Lemuel Cox, and Daniel 
A. Perkins were appointed for Maiden, and George Emerson, 
Isaac Emerson and Aaron Green for Melrose. 

In 1853, that part of Maiden which was set off to Stone- 
ham in 1734, most of the territory of which is now known 
as the Melrose Highlands, and which embraced also what 
is now- the Sewall Woods Park, containing about twenty-five 
houses with sevent}--fi\'e inhabitants, was set off and annexed 
to Melrose. The residence of Hon. Samuel E. Sewall was 
until then in Stoneham; and he was elected Senator to the 
Massachusetts Legislature in 1852, from that town. A move- 
ment had begun sometime previous to this to have this sec- 
tion set off to the new town of Melrose, for the reason that 
the inhabitants could be much better accommodated with 
school, church, business, and town facilities. For this pur- 
pose an act was introduced in the Legislature of 1852, but 
it was unsuccessful. The next year an act of annexation 
was passed, March 15, 1853, thus adding three hundred and 
eighty-one acres to the area of our territory, making a total of 
thirty-one hundred and fourteen and seventy one-hundredths 
acres. 

Melrose is situated in the eastern part of the County of 
Middlesex, and is se\en miles directly north of Boston. It 
is bounded on the north by Wakefield, on the east b\- Saugus, 
(which is in the Count}' of Essex,) on the south by Maiden, 



24 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 




and the west by Stoneham, and a small corner of Medford. 
Its shape is somewhat irregular, having a width on the Wake- 
field line of about a mile and a half, on the Saugus line two 
and a half miles, a little less than three miles on the Maiden, 

and nearly two and a half 
miles on the Stoneham and 
Medford line. 

It is most charmingly sit- 
uated, possessing a surface 
diversified with a great \'ari- 
ety of natural scenery; it has 
hills, valleys, ponds, streams 
and wildwoods; it contains a 
portion of the famous Mid- 
dlesex Fells, now embraced 
in the extensive Metropoli- 
tan Park System. It is particularly fortunate in possessing 
numerous high and unwooded summits, from which may be 
obtained unobstructed views of ocean, cities, towns, wood 
ranges, surro.unding hills and distant mountain peaks. 

Perhaps the one from Mount Hood — formerly known as 
" Bear Hill," situated in the southeasterl}' part of the town, 
near the line between Melrose and Saugus, affords the most 
interesting and far-reaching of these views; although not so 
much of our own valley and its residences is seen, as from 
some of those more centrally located. In a clear day the view 
is one of great grandeur. Some fifteen years ago, Mr. Wen- 
dell P. Hood built a small house on the top of this mount, 
sunk a well, set out fruit trees, and ploughed and sowed several 
of the surrounding acres with grain. But in process of time 
the house was burned, cultivation neglected, and the region 
has now resumed its wild and old-time appearance. 

From this summit, beginning in the northerly direction, in 
plain \'ievv, there rises the extensive establishment of the 
Danvers Insane Asylum; thence the eye sweeps along over 
the Lynn Woods Reservation, crowned with the Lynn Water 
Works standpipe, which is situated on Pine, or Reservoir Hill, 
to the City of Lynn, the Town of Nahant, and a portion of 
Swampscot, with the Town of Saugus nestling in the interven- 
ing valley; then from Lynn Harbor, a strt'tch of ocean sweeps 
around to the south shore and Boston Harbor, dotted with the 



TERRITORY. 



25 



white sails of commerce and pleasure, and the smoke of 
passing steamers; Boston Light and Minot's Ledge Light- 
house are in view; over the towns of Winthrop and Revere, 
and the cities of Chelsea and Everett, the gilded dome of the 
State House rises from out of the midst of the "Hub;" heyontl 
stretches the long line of Blue Hills of Milton, with the 
observatory on the summit of Great Blue Hill, the whole 
being now known as the Blue Hills Reservation, and is a 
part of the Metropolitan Park System; in the west, beyond a 
reach of wilderness, known as the "Scadan Woods," ^ glimpses 
of Maiden are seen, with Wayte's Mount, crowned with the 
Maiden Reservoir; beyond is College Hill with its cluster of 
Tufts College buildings; and above the intcr\cning towns and 
hills, far away, is seen the crown of Mount Wachusett; while 
still farther north, over Melrose itself, with the hills be>-ond, 
stands old Monadnock and many other summits; the whole 
presenting a most enchanting and soul-inspiring scene. 

Nearer the center of the town, yet in the southerh' part, on 
the easterly side of the valle)-, Boston Rock commands a 
wonderfully charming landscape; the \alley below with the 
extensive plant of the Boston Rubber Shoe Company, and the 
still remaining old-time Lynde homesteads, and many highl\- 
cultivated acres; Wyoming Cemetery — " God's Acre," — where 
sleep those who have joined the " silent majority," directl>- 
beneath; an expanse of ocean; the cities of Maiden, Everett, 
Chelsea, Somerville, Charlestown and Boston, and the Blue 
Hills beyond; nearer, the Pine Banks Park and Wayte's Mount, 
on which summit was placed one of the beacons during the 
Revolution, with which to warn the surrounding country of 
approaching danger. For a number of years Boston Rock 
was the home of a hermit.^" 

* Quite au extensive tract, being roads, some still in use, were laid 



all that territory embracing the 
eastern part of Maiden, beyond 
Faulkner, including "Black Ann's 
Corner," and the southeastern 
portion of Melrose adjoining, was 
known under the general name of 
"Scadan." It had within its bor- 
ders, not only hills, woods, swamp, 
plain and upland, but a number of 
inhabitants were scattered through- 
out its territory. A number of 



out therein, by a committee ap- 
pointed by the town, April 8, 1695, 
the details of which are given by 
Corey in his History of I\Ialden, 
pp. 372-3. 

i'^ The name of this hermit was 
J. Wesley Dodge, whose mind had 
become unsettled in a love affair, 
and who, about .1852, erected a 
small house and workshop on the 
summit of this rock, where he 



26 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Across the valley, , on the west, there is a line of rugged 
hills, embi-acing the finest cliff scenery in the vicinity of 
Boston, in the centre of which Black Rock, the highest point 
is situated, and from which a ver_v extensive and most beau- 
tiful \-iew is obtained; even more extensive than that from 
Boston Rock, on the opposite side of the valley, as it is 
considerably higher; not only the open plain below with 
the many grass co\-ered and cultivated acres, but, on either 
hand the Cities of Melrose and Maiden, lay spread out before 
you in their entirety. The \'iew in the east and south is quite 
similar to that from Mount Hood, already described; but to the 
west it is quite different, as it appears to be a dense wilderness; 
but this wilderness somewhat belies its appearance; for it has 
not onl}' long been penetrated by innumerable foot-paths, but 
now has been thoroughly interlaced with good roads and fine 
boulex'ards, made under the superintendence of the Metropoli- 
tan Park Commissioners, which afford a \ariety of most charm- 
ing drives to the thousands upon thousands of pleasure seekers 
who avail themselves of the wild scenery embraced in the 
Middlesex Fells; and it is a perfect paradise for bicycle 
riders. And here, in the centre of the bold and rugged cliffs 
which guard the eastern edge of the Fells, between Black 
Rock and White Rock, plainly in view from the passing 
railroad trains and electric cars, a large portion of the year, 
comes gliding down from the brow of these cliffs, a most 
beautiful waterfall which forms one of the many attractions 
of this wild region. This cascade is as attractive, and as 
well worth seeing, as many another, to which traxellers go 
hundreds of miles to admire. The swamps of the numerous 
valleys, the springs of the hills, and the overflow of many 
little lakelets existing in the elevated plateau above, far 
more extensive than any one unacquainted with them can 
imagine, unite to contribute their waters to this most charm- 
ing waterfall. One of its tributaries, the main one, bears 



lived as a recluse. He had au 
inventive cast of mind, but his 
principal occupation was that of 
a stencil -cutter. He afterwards 
married and lived at Oak Grove, 
Maiden, and his former house was 
burned. The cellar-hole still ex- 
ists. He died a few years ago. A 



very pretty romance connected with 
these circumstances was contrib- 
uted to the Roundabout Budget, 
under the title " The Hermit of 
Boston Rock,'.' by B. Marvin Fer- 
uald. It was afterwards printed in 
the Melrose Jourtial of March 3, 
1888. 



TERRITORY. 



27 



the unique name of " Shilly-Shally Brook." In dry seasons 
the supply of water is so meagre that its beauty disappears, 
only to come again when the rains and snows of another 
season form a supply. In the winter a very interesting ice- 
work formation affords a pleasing exhibition to the visitor. 
Of this cascade, the late Artemas Barrett gave this reminis- 
cence: 

From cutting of the forest to clear the land, and turning the water 
in other directions this cascade Hows but little compared with forty 
years ago. In my boyhood with what admiration have I gazed upon 
this cascade from this very spot, as the waters came tumbling in such 
torrents down those rocky sides. Many have been the nights in my 




SPOT POND BROOK CASCADE. 



youth after retiring to rest, [he then lived in the old " Mountain 
House," at the corner of Maple and Vinton Streets] that I have 
listened to the music of these falls when the waters went plunging and 
roaring down its rocky pathway. Alas, its glory has now nearly 
departed ! 

Another pretty but smaller waterfall, which ma\- be called 
Spot Pond Brook Cascade, is situated not far from the one 
just described, on Spot Pond Brook, a short distance north of 
where formerly stood the IIa\-wardvillc Rubber Works, better 
known as the Red Mills. Years asfo the brook was dammed 



28 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

to make a pond of water for water-power purposes of the near- 
by mill, and this cascade is its o\'erflow. 

The water that supplies Spot Pond Brook no lonj^er comes 
from Spot Pond itself, but from Doleful and Dark Hollow 
Ponds, which are small ponds situated a short distance to the 
north and west, respectively, of Spot Pond. These waters do 
not now flow as formerl>' into Spot Pond, but b\- open channel 
and conduits are taken beneath that pond just west of Old 
Pepe's Cove, and thus supply Spot Pond Hrook. 

Unlike the Cascade between l^lack and White Rocks, which 
is lion est in midsummer, the waters from these two sources, 
Doleful and Dark Hollow Ponds, are sufficient to maintain 
this waterfall constant!)-; sometimes it is necessary to hold 
back by ,q;ates a portion of the water, during- a wet season, 
to prevent too great an oxerflow; thus inundating the lower 
lands of Melrose. 

This charming , little waterfall, picturesquely situated in a 
deep gorge, easily reached, is about ten feet high, and directly 
over it is a rustic bridge, the view from which is wild and 
romantic. Thus by the action of the State in taking Spot 
Pond into the Metropolitan Water S>'stem, enlarging and 
beautifying it as it has, has Ijeen added another attraction to 
the scenery of Melrose, which had ceased to exist after the 
taking of Spot Pond for the supply of water for Maiden, 
Medford and Melrose. 

West Hill, erstwhile called " \'inton Hill," then "High 
Rock," situated in the northwest corner of Melrose, near the 
Stoneham and Wakefield line, easily accessible from P'ranklin 
Street, atTords another \-iew of this charming scener}'; more 
far-reaching than either Boston Rock or Black Rock, but 
not more extensi\'e than that from Mount Hood, although 
differing from that somewhat. 

From this summit is obtainod by far the i)est \iew oi our 
own Melrose, as it embraces the city in all its \-arious parts, 
with the exception of the western portion of Wyoming, which 
is hidden by the interxening Sewall Woods Park; all its 
hills and \alleys; its churches, public buildings and dwellings 
from the extreme southerly part at the I^Ydls to the Melrose 
Highlands in the north, including P^ordell and Columbus 
Parks, and the settlement of (ireenwood, in Wakc^field, just 
beyond. And riijht here 1 venture the assertion that but 



TERRITORY. 



29 



comparatively few of our thirteen thousand inhabitants ever 
availed themselves of the beaut>' and ma;j;nificence of this 
exquisite view, afforded them from this eminence existin.L,^ in 
their very midst, so easily reached, and with so little exertion! 

Mt. Zion, in the extreme northeast, and Pine Hill in 
the east, are minor summits, affording a less extentled view 
than those already mentioned; thus is our residential valley 
centre completely surrounded by elevations from which so 
much can be seen. One more >'et remains to be spoken of; 
Barrett Mount, situated in the westerly centre of the city. 
From this you not onl.\' i^et a distant view -down the valley, 
but a near overlook of the whole cit\', in all directions; 
nestled in the valley and climbing the hillsides are the resi- 
dences of our busy population; church spires and public 
buildings; and in the very centre lies Ell Pond, with the 
recently purchased land for park purposes on its northerh- 
side, and many handsome residences on its immediate border." 

Ell Pond is the largest body of water within the bounds of 
Melrose. It contains about 30 acres, and was so named from 
its shape. It was thus known as early as 1638, in the Charles- 
town records. In legal documents it has been variously 
spelled as Ell, P^le, Eel and L; the different spelling proba- 
bly arising from a misapprehension of the sound. In 1648, 
say the Charlestown records: " Robt. Hale and Thomas Lynde 
were ordered to ' lay out \-ong Thomas Coitmores twoo lotts 
by Ell pond.'" 

In the inventory of the widow Martha Coytmore's estate, 
made in 1648, appears the item: "150 acres land at ell pond;" 
and when the road from Winnissemit to Reading was laid out 
in 1653, it was called the same. Thus earl>- known and named 
let us reverence and continue the old name and not try to 
change it for something a little more mellifluous, possilily. 

As early as 1663, a dam was l)uilt at the outlet of Ell Pond, 



" Nestling withiu an embrace of 
hills of unusual attractiveness, in 
their native ruggeduess and shaded 
slopes, lives one portion of the 
town, while on many a command- 
ing site are pleasant homes which 
sweep at a glance the country 
round, including lake and wood, 
peaceful plain and shaded hilltop, 



inland stream and ocean wave. — 
the church spire, the school house 
and the town house — exhibiting at 
one view the beauty which adorns 
your prosperity and the enterprise 
which evidences your appreciatiou 
of opportunities. Address of George 
F. Stone, at the dedication of the 
Town Hall, June 17. 1S73. MSS. 



30 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

by Samuel Howard, whose dwelling was nearby, and a saw- 
mill erected. A dense forest of large cedar trees once existed 
on the north side of the pond. Fifty }'ears later it would 
seem that the surrounding timber had been so exhausted 
that the mill had been converted into a grist or cornmill, as 
it is thus referred to in a deed from Jonathan Howard to 
Samuel Howard, wheelwright, dated Jan. 8, 1721. 

In this pond both shad and alewives used to be taken in 
large numbers giving food to the earlier inhabitants. Fish 
ladders were formerly made at the mill-dams on the brooks 
below, to enable the fish to reach the pond; and when the 
mill-owners came to make opposition to this method, it is 
said that the fish were carried to the pond in tubs of water. 
Rev. S. Osgood Wright, in his discourse at Maiden, Dec. 
I, 1831, states that 

much excitement has prevailed at different periods in the town, since 
1695. concerning the passage of alewives from the tide-water up to Ell 
Pond, in the north part of the town. Much time and money have been 
expended upon this subject, to little or no purpose. i- 

The water is not as high now as formerl}'; the time has been 
when it flowed up towards the Highlands quite a distance 
beyond its present limits. In 1S62, an animated controversy 
took place among our citizens; one party wishing to lower 
the water, the other to have it remain as it was. Those in 
favor of lowering it pre\-ailcd; and in consequence wells 
became dry, border walls tumbled, and consequent damages 
were paid by the town. The pond is fed by two or three 
bro.oks which enter it from the west and north, the prin- 
cipal one taking its rise in the northwesterly part of the 
Highlands; and so great is the supply that water is always 
flowing from its outlet at Main Street, at its southeast 
corner. 

An efl'ort was made a few years ago to change the name 
of this prett)' little sheet of water in the centre of our city, 
from Ell Pond to Crystal Lake; and this new name has crept 
into some of the ma})s. But the old one, and many others 
in our immediate neighborhood. Spot, M)-stic, Horn, Spy, 

1- The Alewife fishery was con- late matters. Sometimes the right 

sidered of considerable importance to fish during the season was sold 

by the town and committees were to the highest bidder. Letter of 

chosen from time to time to regu- Deloraine I'. Corey, April 24, 1899. 



TERRITORY. 31 

Long, Swain's, Smith's and Humphrey's, received their names 
from the early settlers; ours as early as 1638, and frequent 
mention of it as such, occurs in deeds and records all the 
\va)' down the centuries; and "succeeding generations have 
reverenced the first nomination." During the year 1874, the 
"Crystal Lake Boat Club" was formed ,and a boat-house 
built near the outlet of the pond on Main Street; and for 
several seasons rowing and sailing on the pond was \'ery 
popular, and man>- boat races took place; but like the effort 
to change the name, now seldom heard in speech, if ever, 
the club is 710H est; the boat-house stood in ruins for many 
years, but has now disappeared, and the good old name 
remains. 

The other ponds within our borders are .Swain's, Bennett's, 
and Long Pond. Until within a few years, a small bod_\' of 
water, known as Dix Pond, existed in the rear of City Hall. 
It has now been filled up and is no longer one of the ponds 
which contributed to our first name, " Pond Feilde." 

Swain's Pond, so known in the Maiden records as early as 
1695, containing an area of sixteen acres, is in the south part 
of the town, and is situated in a wild and secluded region, with 
but one or two habitations near it, being now used only for 
ice-cutting purposes. There was once, in days gone by, a saw- 
mill at its outlet, when the surrounding district IkuI a plentiful 
suppl)' of timber. ^-^ 

Long Pond, containing fi\'e acres, is in the southeastern part 
of the town. Like Swain's, it has been known by that name 
since 1695; and like both Ell and Swain's Ponds, it once had 
its sawmill, which was situated near the present Upham 
Street, on the brow of the hill nearly opposite the residence 
of John Doherty, and a portion of the pond still exists on the 
northerly side of the street. From here the brook descends, 
skirting the romantic cliffs on the right, thence on till it 
reaches the Saugus River. This sawmill is referred to in a 
deed of 1783, from John Flagg to John Edmunds, the Revo- 
lutionar}' soldier, conveying the old I^lnathan ]h-eeden house 

^^ The site of the mill of John days of its builder; and uii the 

Grover could be found in 1894, iu west side of the brook the shape 

the meadow on the easterly side of and size of the little mill could be 

Swain's Pond Avenue, near its traced. Qorey, //is/ory o/J/ii/i/cn, 

junction with Lebanon street. The 447. 
dam was then as distinct as in the 



32 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

and land, situated on the old Saugus and Lynn road, on the 
present Parker estate, wherein liberty was granted to the 
owners of the mill, which was near these premises, to flow a 
part of «aid land from December i to April lo, in each year. 
The mill and the house have long since disappeared. In this 
neighborhood, a little to the east, there was once a house 
belonging to a family b}' the name of Herring; but that also 
is a thing of the past; nothing but the cellar-hole remains. 
What was known as Cowen's dam, the site of which is a con- 
tinuation of Waverley Avenue, reaching from the residence of 
Frank H. Brown to the road leading to Andrew J. Burnett's 
homestead, was built to overflow the large meadow at the west 
of the Pond, thus giving more power to the mill pri\ilege. 

Another outlet to Long Pond was an artificial one, made at 
its eastern end, by a sluice-wa\' built by Frederick Tudor, in 
the beginning of the nineteenth centur)^, and who also built 
and. lived in what is now the Saugus Poor House. This 
outlet was made for the purpose of aiding the overflow of the 
meadows at the south of his residence. Here- was cut in a 
primitive way, for commercial purposes, " the first ice, which 
was teamed to Charlestown, loaded and exported to the West 
Indies, where it was sold for twenty-five cents per pound. "^-^ 
John Edmunds was one of the workmen at this time. A 
iVIelrose pond thus furnished the water for the ice, which was 
here first cut, and first exported by the pioneers in that 
business, the Tudors. 

Bennett's Pond is a small one situated in the northeast part 
of the town, and is now only utilized for the cutting of ice. 
Its outlet is one of the tributaries of the Saugus River. Like 
all of the other ponds, it once had its dam for mill purposes. 
A gristmill was built by Robert Gerry in i8i6, who then 
bought of Jonas Green, for $25.00, the pri\ilege of flowing 
an adjoining pasture to a certain height. This mill was 
burned nearh' half a century ago. South of this pond, in 
the field, about a third of the way between it antl Porter 
Street, there exists an old cellar-hole, where once stood the 
house of Samuel Green. During the Battle of Bunker Hill, 

!■* William Tudor, [agent of his Bay to cut ice from the ice-bergs, 

brother Frederick] who supplied Edward Everett Hale, in James 

ice to the tropics, and when a Russell Lozvell and His Friends, 

winter failed him in New England, p. 264. 
sent his schooners up into Baffin's 



TERRITORY. 



33 



his wife Hannah, was so friohtene.d at hearinsj the reports of 
the cannonade, that she died in convulsions. Possibly a hus- 
band, son or relative had gone thither to participate in the 
fight ! Up to within a few years there existed on Franklin 
Street, at the Highlands, a pretty little sheet of water, 
fringed with large and handsome willows, known as High- 
land Pond. Hut the stream which entered it, on its way to 
Ell Pond, has been di\'erted, the pond drained, its bed filled, 
and all signs of its former existence have disappeared; and a 
portion of its site is now occupied b)' the old church building, 
which stood on the opposite side of the street, where now 
stands the new and handsome edifice of the Highland Con- 
gregational Church. This old building was bought b\' the 
Shepard ^Manufacturing Company, which carries on a large 
silver-ware business therein. 

Spot Pond is not within the limits of Melrose, but lies 
so close to its border, and has been so closely connected 
with its history that it deserves mention here. It is a most 
beautiful sheet of water, .situated among the higher lands of 
Stoneham and Medford. The surrounding country is mostly 
wild and wooded; but there are a few fine residences on its 
border, with the "Langwood Hotel" charmingly situated on 
an eminence, overlooking the pond.^'^ 

This view was taken from "Saddleback Hill," near "C)ld 
Pepe's Cove," in 1S76, and shows the pond as it appeared when 
supplying the three municipalities of Maiden, Medford and 
Melrose with water, the history of which is given under " Spot 
Pond Water Works." ^'^ 

Spot Pond is first mentioned by Governor John Winthrop in 
his Journal, under date of February 7, 1632. He sa\^s: 

The governour, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Eliot, and others, went over Mistick 
River at Medford, and going N. and by E. among the rocks about two 
or three miles, they came to a very great pond, having in the midst an 
island of about an acre, and very thick with trees of pine and beach ; 
and the pond had divers small rocks, standing up here and there in it, 



'■' Tlie " Laucjwood " was burned 
April I, 1902. The origiual stone 
mansion to which additions had 
been made for hotel purposes, is 
to be restored and used for a sani- 



tarium, by Dr. Charles H. Coggs- 
well, the present owner. 

"' Reproduced from a photograph 
by Charles E. Swaiu. the negative 
being owned by Frank. E. Wootl- 
ward, of Maiden. 



34 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



which the}- therefore called Spot Pond. The}- went all about it upon 
the ice. From thence (towards the N. W. about half a mile,) the}- came 
to the top of a very high rock, beneath which, (towards the N.) lies a 
goodly plain, part open land, and part woody, from whence there is 
a fair prospect, but it being then close and rainy, they could see but a 
small distance. This place they called Cheese Rock, [now Bear Hill, 
with its observatory,] because, when they went to eat somewhat, they 
had only cheese, (the governor's man forgetting, for haste, to put up 
some bread.) 



From that day to this the pond has borne the name then 
gi\-en it. "Succeeding generations iiave reverenced the first 
nomination." 

" Spott pond," with its island, appears on a map of this part 
of New England, in \\'illiam Wood's Nczv Englands Prospect, 
which was published two }-ears later, in 1634. 

A thrilling tragedy, the murder of David Gould, occurred 
Nov. 25, 1819, in the Gould homestead, then standing on the 
Stoneham road, now Pond Street, only a little distance from 
the border of the pond. 

The inevitable saw-mill once existed at the pond's outlet, 

long a thing of the past, 
which was built b}- James 
Barrett, in 1706. 

The accompanying repro- 
duction is. from a sketch b}- 
Hannah L}'nde in 1844. The 
house was built before 1700, 
was torn down in 1 850, and 
was the home of Jacob Gould 
and his two sons, all three 
GOULD HOMESTEAD. minute-meniu Capt. Samuel 

Sprague's Compan)^ at Lexington. The house pillaged and 
son Da\-id murdered as above. 

Spot Fond has now been taken into the great Metropolitan 
Water System, and has become a storage and distributing 
reser\-oir, and is under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan 
Water and Sewerage Board. To prepare the Pond for this 
purpose, the State, through the Metropolitan Water Board, 
before its consolidation with the Board of Metropolitan Sewer- 
age Commissioners, in 1901, expended ^the sum of $541,474.36, 
in ^^draining, cleaning, excavating,] and enlarging; in gate- 




TERRITORY. 



35 



houses, and the draining of Doleful Pond and Dark Hollow- 
Pond into Spot Pond Brook. ^" 

Spot Pond has been raised to a minimum depth of fifteen 
feet, and when full has an area of 326 acres; and will have a 
level of twenty-nine feet above that of Chestnut Hill reservoir. 
In its enlargement its former beauty has been greatly enhanced. 




SPOT POND— 1002. 

Showiug Old Pepe's Cove, Pond Street, Saddleback Hill, with "Cheese Rock," now 
Bear Hill, in the distance. 

Ell Pond Brook, the outlet of that poiul, runs through the 
centre of the town as far as Wyoming, where it is joined by 
the Spot Pond Brook, the former outlet of Spot Pond, but now 
of Doleful and Dark Hollow Ponds, and a little lower down 
the valley "Shilly-Shall>- Brook," from the neighboring cas- 
cade, unites its waters thereto. These brooks, thus united, 
continue on through Melrose and Maiden, flowing into ami 
forming the Maiden River; the "Three M>-le Brooke" of " \-^- 
olden time." Another brook in the northeastern part of the 
cit\- runs into Bennett's Pond. 

Melrose is divided into several tlistinct villages, or settle- 

1' Considerable damage has Ijeeu our citizens brought suit on this 

caused to owners of lauds abutting account against the Coniniouweallh 

on Spot Pond Brook, from the and recovered 5109.56, 527.39 and 

drainage of these two ponds, by an I100.79, a total of 5237.74, besides 

extra overflow of water ; three of interest and costs. 



36 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



ments: the Middlesex Fells, — generally shortened into Fells, — 
and Wyoming in the southern part of the city; the Centre; 
the Melrose Highlands, in the north, — each of these having a 
station on the Boston and Maine Railroad; — Norrisville in 
the northeast; and East Side. These two are reached by the 
electric cars of the Lynn and Boston Street Railway Com- 
pany; the main line of which, through the centre of the city, 
running from Chelsea to Woburn, superceded the Maiden and 
Melrose Horse Railroad in 1892, and the East Side branch 
commenced running in 1897. 

These lines are now met by the Wakefield Railway Com- 
pany, at the junction of Main, Franklin and Green Streets, 
which runs through Main Street to Greenwood and Wakefield, 
and thence on to other connections. Many different lines of 
street railroads have now been consolidated under the name 
of the Boston and Northern Street Railway Company. 
' Our name, Melrose, was adopted by the advocacy of the 
late William Bogle, a natixe of Glasgow, Scotland, who had 
been a resident several years before our incorporation, and 
before the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, in 1845, ^"^1 
when he had to go back and forth to his business in Boston by 
the stage-coach line which ran between Boston and Reading; 
and which was established in 1798. Mr. Bogle evidently had 
at least two objects in x'\<t\\ in offering us our name: one, 
a sweet sounding one, that had not 
been in common use, we being the 
first to adopt it in our country; an- 
other, as a memorv' of his nati\e land.^'^ 




^* The uanie was adopted by a 
couimittee, consistiug of the late 
Hou. Daniel W. Gooch, William 
Bogle, David L. Webster and Johu 
vSheltou, which met at Mr. .Shel- 
tou's house, No. 75 Lake Aveuue. 

In this connection an extract 
from Mr. Bogle's will, dated Dec. 
ID, 1890, is of interest as showing 
his interest in Melrose, and indicat- 
ing a future possible benefit to be 
derived by the Melrose Public 
Library. Items. " Should all my 
children die, leaving no issue of 
mine surviving, or should all issue 



of mine die before mj' youngest 
living grandchild arrives at the 
age of twenty-one years, then said 
Trustees shall pay, make over, and 
convey the whole of said Trust 
Fund, whether consisting of real 
estate, or personal property, or 
both, to the Town of Melrose, 
a municipal corporation in said 
Massachusetts, and to which the 
testator gave the name of Melrose, 
to which Town of Melrose under 
the circumstances above named to 
occur, I give, devise and bequeath 
said Trust h'und, whether consist- 



TERRITORY. 37 

The derivation of the Scottish Melrose is variously defined 
by different authorities. The Gazetteer of Scotland gives its 
meaning as follows: from either the Irish " Moal Ross" — a 
bold promontory, or from the British "Mell Ross" — a projec- 
tion of meadow. Sharp's Gazetteer of the British Is/amis, has it 
"Moel" or "Mull Rhos " — a point. The late Prof. Herbert 
B. Adams, in a letter to the writer says: 

Johns Hopkins University, 
Baltimore, Feb. 14, 1883. 

Dear Sir : — I have taken my first leisure to find out the origin of 
the name Melrose. At the Peabody Library I looked in vain through 
a dozen or more books of names of places. But at last I think I have 
struck the truth. The word Melrose is Gaelic. It has nothing what- 
ever to do with the Latin Mel and Rosa, as one might suppose. It 
comes from the Gaelic Maol meaning " the brow of a rock; a cape or 
promontory," (see Macleod and Dewar's Dictionary of the Gaelic 
Language), and from Ros, signifying "a promontory; an isthmus, a 
peninsular," (see same Dictionary.) The two words together appear 
to mean a headland, or highland projecting into water. Considering 
the fact that " Old Melrose " stood upon a promontory upon the south 
bank of the Tweed, two miles below the modern Abbey, the above 
etymology would seem to cover the. ground. This \iew is further 
substantiated by the Latin name of the old cloister annals "Chronica 
de Mailros," (731-1275 A. D.) If the word Melrose had any connec- 
tion with the Latin Mel, this form Mailros would be inexplicable. 
I have seen the form Moel used in the same sense as Maol. In all 
probability the rocky island of Mull, which ^^'illiam Black has made so 
interesting in his novels, derived its name from the same physical idea 
of a promontory as may be seen in the geography of " Old Melrose." 

Verj' cordially yours, 

Herbert B. Adams. 
iiig of real estate or persoual by said Towu of Melrose to the 
property, or both, the same to be Scots Charitable Society of Boston, 
held by said town, as a perpetual Massachusetts, for the general uses 
Trust Fund, and to be called the and purposes of said society ; al- 
Bogle Fund, to invest the same and ways giving to said towu all and 
keep the same invested as a Trust the same powers from time to time 
Fund, and collect the income and to sell any or all property, real or 
profits thereof and therefrom, and persoual, at any time coustituting 
pay quarterly one-half of the net a part or the whole of said Trust 
income thereof to and for the uses Fund as is hereinafter given to 
of the Public Library of said town, my Trustees, and the right to rein- 
to be expended yearly in aid of vest the proceeds of such sales in 
said Public Library of the said such manner as said towu shall 
Town of Melrose, the other half of deem best and determine." 
said net income to be paid yearly 



38 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

John Bower, in his Description of the Abbeys of Melrose ; mid 
old Melrose, zvith their Traditions, confirms Prof. Adams' view: 

Old Melrose, or Malerose, which is a mile and a half from Melrose 
Abbey to the east, was originally called Mull-ross, signifying a bare 
promintory, Ross, in the ancient language, signifying a peninsular, 
and Mull, bare. 

But in his description of the ruined Abbey, he gives a more 
poetic signification: 

Upon the other buttress is a pedestal, supported by the thistle, 
having the mallet and rose upon the shield, for Melrose, of which 
the derivation may be this — the mell is intended to represent the 
instrument by which this beautiful fabric was erected; and b}^ the 
rose, which signifies sweet, it maj- well be termed sweet and pleasant 
to the eye, for the lightness and elegance with which it is finished. 

The earliest local name applied to our territory, before it 
came to be known as " Maiden North End," and " North Mai- 
den," was "Pond Field;" so called when describing the posses- 
sions of Ralph and Richard Sprague, around Ell Pond, in the 
Charlestoivn Book of Possessions, 1638; it is there written " Pond 
feilde." 

Although Melrose is one of the younger municipalities of 
this Commonwealth, its territory had been occupied, at the time 
of its incorporation, for a period of o\-er two hundred years. 
There are at least seven families whose ancestors made their 
abode in this beautiful valley, a part of them nearly, and a part 
o\'er two centuries and a half ago. These are the Spragues, 
the Greens, the Barretts, the Lyndes, the Uphams, the Vintons 
and the How^ards. Descendants of all of them are among its 
citizens today. 

These early settlers left their homes, man}' of them from 
over the sea, and came into this then unsettled wilderness, in- 
habited only b}' the wild Indian, and still wilder beasts, and 
amid trials and sufferings, built their homesteads and founded 
their families. Long, cold and dreary winters must have been 
theirs. No sound of church bell greeted their ears, summon- 
ing them to the worship of God. Many were the deprix'ations 
experienced, many the hardships endured. Today we realize 
only to a limited degree what these hardy pioneers passed 
through.^-' But they possessed noble spirits, persevering and 

1'' They were possessed of iron met those early dangers with corn- 
wills and iron nerve ; and they posure ; their life of privation and 



TERRITORY. 39 

upri.cjht characters. They came determined to succeed, and 
succeed they did. Would that we had a minute chronicle of 
man\' of the events that took place in the lixcs of these early 
settlers of Melrose. A few \-ears arjo, many of the past crcner- 
ation were living^, who could have related much pertaininfj to 
the earU- histor\' of the town, which the>- had received from 
their ancestors. But they have passed away, and with them 
man^• local incidents, events and anecdotes that would now be 
interestini;-, and which thc\- could have rehearsed, are no longer 
attainable. 

In those earl\' da>-s, besides the prowling- and savage Indian, 
our surrounding forests, many of which have not >-et wholly 
disappeared, were full of wild animals; wolves, deer, bears, 
foxes, and wildcats. So plentiful were the;\' that laws were 
passed concerning them, and bounties offered to aid in the 
extermination of the most obnoxious and destructive of them. 
A law was passed by the Colony, in 1630, giving bounty for 
the killing of wolves; one in 1635 for wolves and foxes; and in 
1640, the following law was passed: 

Ordered, that every man that kills a wolfe w''' hounds shall have 40s 
alowed him. & whosoever kils a wolfe w^'^ trap, peece, or other 
engine, shall have lo^ alowed him, to bee paid by that towne where 
the wolfe is killed, & if hee bee kiled out of any towne bounds it shall 
bee paid by the Treasurer. 

Wood, in Xeiv Englands Prospect, speaks of the "three great 
a.nno\-ances, of wolves, rattle-snakes and mosquitoes." 

The former were nightly visitors among the unprotected herds and 
flocks. In the time of deep snows they hung around the settlements 
in great packs, and their fierce barking was a terror to man as well as 
beast. They infested the Saugus woods as late as 1753 and were not 
entirely extirpated until many years after. Bounties were offered for 
their scalps, and the grisly trophies were sometimes nailed on the 
meeting-houses. " For Beares," says Wood, " they be common being a 
great blacke kind of Beare, which be most feirce in Strawberry time." 
They are said to have been seen in Maiden woods within this century, 
and they yet prowl along sequestered roads in the traditions of old 
families.-'^ 

hardship ami toil, was encountered lives were yielded a willing sacri- 

with cheerfulness for the praise- fice to the cause of freedom. MSS. 

worthy object of securing; for them- of Artemas Barrett, 

selves and their posterity, civil .„ (j^^ey, History of Maiden. 25. 
and religious liberty ; and their 



40 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In 1669, wolves had become so plentiful and destructive that 
our neighboring town of Reading ordered " that a bounty of 
twenty shillings be offered for e\-ery wolf killed in Reading 
for the ensuing seven years; " and in 1685, a "bount}' of 15s. for 
the killing of an old bear, and los. for the killing of a sucking 
cub." Charlestown offered a bounty of lO shillings for each 
wolf killed. In 1687, Samuel Sprague, Jr., of Maiden, was paid 
forty shillings for killing two grown wolves. The same year 
the records of Reading state that 

the town paid James Stimpson 1 5^ shillings for killing an old bear ; 
paid John Eaton of ye plain, and some others, 2 £. for killing three 
young bears; paid John Upton, Jr., George Flint, and Steven Fish for 
killing one old bear and two young ones, i ;^. & i 5 shillings; and paid 
Richard Harnden i 3 shillings for killing one old bear. 

In 1631, when Go\-. John Winthrop was at his Ten Hill farm, 
he entered the following item in his Journal : 

Oct. 1 1 . The governour, being at his farm house at Mistick walked 
out after supper, and took a piece in his hand, supposing he might see 
a wolf, (for they came dail}- about the house, and killed swine and 
calves, etc.) 

This pro\"ed quite an acK'cnture. It grew suddenl}- dark, he 
mistook his path, and coming across the empty little house of 
Sagamore John, passed the night therein; "Sometimes walking 
b}' the fire, sometimes singing psalms, and sometimes getting 
wood, but could not sleep;" meanwhile his serwints " ha\ing 
been much perplexed for him, and having walked about, and 
shot off pieces, and hallooed in the night, but he heard them 
not." 

Concerning the topographical features of our territory, 
geologists ha\'e made the statement that the Merrimack 
River once flowed through this \alley to the sea; but 
that by some uphea\al of nature its course was changed 
to its present channel. Had that been so, and such a chanoe 
had not taken place, how different would ha\e been the his- 
tcjry of this regicni. I^ut such is not the case. In ])lace of 
a wide flowing ri\'er occupying nearl\' all of the le\el lands, 
we have the City of Melrose, most l)eautfully situated, with 
its charming and di\'ersified scenery, of \-alley, hill and wild- 
wood. 



CHAPTER III. 

ROADS, STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 

THE first roatl, and the only one for many years which 
passed through Melrose, was laid out by order of the 
General Court, two hundred and fort}'-nine years ago, 
at a session held Sept. lo, 1653. Some of the names of 
persons and places herein mentioned will be recognized as 
belonging to Melrose: 

Thomas Marshall, John Smyth, & John Sprague. beinge chosen to 
la}' out the country highway betweene Reddinge & \\'inneseinett, 
[Chelsea,] do lay it out as follows: from Reddinge towne, through 
Maldon bounds, betwixt] the pond cSc John Smyths land. [Smith's 
Pond, in Wakefield; Maiden bounds extended thus far until what is 
now Greenwood was set off in 1727 to Reading,] & so by the east 
sicfe of M' Joseph Hills land, to New Hockley Hole, & so in the old 
way by the Cow Pen, [jDrobably in our present Highlands,] & thence 
along on the east side of Thomas Co3'tmores lott, by Ele Pond, in the 
old way, to Thomas Lynds land, then through the first tield, & so by 
the field by his howse.from thence, on the old way. by Maldon meeting 
howse, through the stony swampe, from the road there vpp betwixt 
Richard JAddams & John Uphams lottes, into Charlestowne bounds, 
through \\'"i Johnsons & Richard Dexters land into y^ way by the 
South Springe, & so on the south side of Tho W'hitamores howse into 
Mr Bellinghams land, [Governor Bellingham] into the way that goeth 
to the fferr)-; the sd way to be fower pole broade, in good ground. & 
six or eight where need recjuires.' 

A report had been previously submitted, " V'^ act of which 
comissioners the Court appro\-ed of." on June 30, 1653, by this 
same committee wherein the>' recommended substantially this 
same route beginning their report as follows. 

Wee, whose names are vnderwritten, being legally chosen by our 
towns, by virtue of a Court order, to lay out the countrie way betwixt 
Redding and Winnesemett, and ha\ing vejwed the sajd wajes, wee 
aphend it most con\enjent to be as followes. 

' Mass. ColotiY Rrcoids. iii. 330. 



42 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In this preliminary report our Pond is rightly spelled " Ell," 
instead of " Ele." Both documents show that Maiden had a 
meeting-house as early as four >-ears after its incorporation, in 
1653. " The old way," so often referred to, means the old, 
crooked, de\"ious Indian or bridle path, or trail, in use before 
this date, winding hither and thither, going around this hill, 
shunning that swamp or bog, and o\-er which the traveller 
wended his way between Chelsea and Reading. Some parts 
of this old original road are being tra\-ersed b\' the streets of 
today; but a large part is discontinued, although traces of it 
in some places, particularh- in Melrose, are quite distinct. 

Several attempts to lay out this road had been previously 
made. The first one was by the town of Charlestown, when 
action was taken to build a road from Mystic Side up by 
Wayte's Mount, through the " Commons," and beyond Ell 
Pond; and the following committee was appointed: 

[24. 12. 1644/3.] 

It is agreed y^ The: Line, Robt Hale & The: Pearce should lay out 
A convenient Highway on Mistickside from y^ Woods to the head of 
the North River & to allow for ye Highway & to bound the Meadows 
from ye Mount to Ell Pond, & to allow them ye Highway in bound- 
ing ye Meadow.- 

But May 26, 1647, ^'""^ General Court took action, and Lieut. 
Ralph Sprague and Francis Smith were appointed "to lay out 
y^ way fro'" W'innetsemet to Reading." This was a part of a 
general plan by which a continuous highway was opened to 
the settlements in New Hampshire, passing through Reading, 
Andover, and Haverhill; and its survey brought forth the first 
of that long series of humble petitions in which are preserved 
much of the history of Mystic Side and Maiden.^ 

In 1648, fi\e years before the road was finally established in 
1653, it had been laid out in such a manner as to meet with 
opposition from the residents of Mystic Side and others, which 
seems to ha\-e been successful, and Ensign Thomas Lynde and 
Joseph Hills were added to act with the committee in select- 
ing a new route for this road, as will be seen b\- the following- 
petition: 

16=3=48= To the HoiPd Court. 

The humble peticon of seu'el the Inhabitants of Mestick side & 
others Jn Charles Towne. May Jt please you to und''stand. that there 

'-' Charlestoivn Archives, xx., in ' Qorey, History of Ma/den, (^5. 

loco. 



ROADS. STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 43 

hath beene lately layd out A highway from wineseiiiet to Redding by 
Appointment of the gen^ll court, whose orders in all things, wee most 
willingly as dutie binds vs submit vnto, Assuring ourselves that their 
principall Ayme is the publ. good : wd' vnder fauour we conC is not 
consistent w'^ the Lying of that way as now it is done = soe that it 
thwarts neere twentie small Lotts & Allso many other Lotts = w^h if by 
means thereof, the owners be forced to fence out the way A great part 
of the Land must be sould to make the fence, the owners being many 
of them pore & not able to beare the charge thereof, some of them 
hauing foure fences AUreadie Against coiiion & highway ground, 
W'herefore o"" humble request is that the said Act may be recalled & 
that the way vnto wenesemet from Redding may be in the highway 
Leading toward the penie ferrie, vnto the house of James Barritt & so 
by the towne way leading directly vnto winesemet. Lying on the head 
of the fine Acre Lotts. by the South-spring, w^h is Allso A playne, 
firme. trodd way & but lit'le about, the w^i^ they now stand charged to 
fence Against & cannot secure their planting without it. So shall wee 
be bound to pray as wee desire dayly to doe for ye psptie & peace 
temporall & Eternall. J*? Greexland 

RiCH^ Dexter 
Francis Wheeler 
George Ffelt. 

In th name of the rest. 

The mag"- consider it meet (\vh Reference to the Concurrence of it 
with the Deptys) that Tho=Line & Mr Jos=Hills may be ioyned wh 
the former Comittee to take a new survey of the most convenient 
place for the way in the petition mentioned. l\: to make certifi- 
cate to the Court of their ^^P * ^ ^ j 9> 
apprehensions therebout. yO\ii/l^tyC /Ccrh * ^0^\r^ 

The Dept'.e? Consent to o^ hono''d magists in answer to this pet= 

W'M Torrev by order ^^ !^. ■* 

The committee thus enlarg-ed made report to the General 
Court. May 9, 1649: 

Mr Joseph Hill, Leff Sprauge, Tho Lyne, ^: Frauncis Smith, as a 
comittee, bringing in their retourne of a highway laid out by them 
from Redding to Winisemett, information was given that this was 
lesse behoofefuU to y^ country then the fornV ; wherevpon the Courte, 
considering y' it is and willbe of great concernement to the publicke 
that the best high wayes be layd out from toune to toune for publicke 
vse, wch concernes posterity aswell as ourselves, and that no private 
interest should hinder it. have ordered, that M"' Cleoments. John 

■* Mass. Archives, cxxi, 21. 



44 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Osgood, and Frauncis Smith, as a comittee, shall have power to lay- 
out the most convenient way for a countr}- roade between e Redding 
and Winnisemett.5 

But for some reason this committee did not perform this 
duty; the road still remained undesignated; and the following- 
order was passed Ma}- 31, 1652 : 

Whereas this Court did long since appoint sundry psons to lay out 
the way from Reding to \Mnesemett, which is not 3-et determined, & 
some of the psons mentioned in the sd order are dead, and forasmuch 
as it was ordered by Cambridge Court, that it should forthwith be 
done by the townes of Redding & Maiden, it is now ordered by this 
Court, that the laying out of the sd highway shalbe clone by the townes 
of Redding & Maiden, according to the law in that case provided, any 
act of this Court to the contrary notw^'standing/^ 

Then, as we have seen, but not until over a \'ear and three 
months had passed, the ne\\- committee consisting of Thomas 
Marshall, John Smyth and John Sprague, laid out the long 
contemplated road in a manner apparently- satisfactor\- to all 
concerned. 

The \'arious windings of this original road through Melrose 
may be traced as follows: Beginning at the boundary line 
between Wakefield and Melrose, it followed the present Main 
Street a short distance, crossing it twice, and lea\'ing it just 
before reaching the brow of Reading Hill on the easterly 
side; thence in the rear of the residence of the late Asa 
Church, and of the new houses recenth' built and parallel 
with the present Main street to Green street, a portion of the 
road being still clearly defined; thence through the whole 
length of Green Street, b}- the eastern end of Ell Pond, 
through Lebanon Street as far as Louisburg Square, where 
still stands the old John Lynde mansion, but now \\'ithout its 
once umbrageous elm; then down L}-nde Street to near where 
the "Dolly Upham " house now stands, when it left that 
street and skirted along che east side of Boston Rock, 
following somewhat nearly the course of the present Lin- 
wood Avenue, almost to Sylvan Street, crossing the field 
just before reaching the h'ltter street; a short section of this 
cross-cut is still preser\-ed, although the new stone-crusher, 
established in 1897, ^i^s nearly crushed it out of existence; 
thence diagonally across Wyoming Cemetery to its south- 

^ Mass. Colony Records, iii, 159. '■ iMass. Colony Records, iii, 274. 



ROADS, STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 45 

west corner; thence over hill and dale, through the woods, 
by the Forest Dale Cemetery, to Forest Street; entering that 
street near the old Jacob Pratt house; thence it followed the 
old " Salem Path " to the present Main Street, skirting 
Wayte's Mount, which has been known as " Mount Pros- 
pect," and "Captain's Hill." 

That part of the old road from Wyoming Cemetery to 
Forest Street was remarkably well preserved and clearly 
defined, easily driven over, showing the wheel-rut abrasion 
of the old-time usage ver\- distinctly, until the time when 
the Lynde farm was bought by Hon. Elisha S. Converse, 
and the Forest Dale Cemetery established in Maiden; then 
the new road which was built between the two cemeteries 
entirely obliterated all traces of the old road of 1653. 

The original Ensign Thomns Lynde farm was large, em- 
bracing what is now the \\'}-oming Cemetery, Pine Banks 
Park, and extended to and be\ond Forest Street; and this 
portion was referred to in the order la)-ing out the road in 
1653; and in 1695, ^vhen the " Commons " were divided, his son 
Joseph Lynde, lived on Forest Street, and his house and 
land were exempted b>- the committee in the division of 
those lands, as per report in Maiden records of March 26, 
1694, and as given on page 17.' 

Parts of the old road in Maiden, Everett and Chelsea still 
exist; sections of Madison, Forest and ]\L-\in Streets in Maiden, 
Buckman and Chelsea Streets in Everett, and Washington 
Avenue in Chelsea traverse portions of it. 

In the course of time, as will be seen by the following peti- 
tion of Ensign Thomas Lynde, a part of the road running 
through Melrose, just described, was somewhat changed: 

To the Hoiior'i County Court at Charts Tounic. 

20. 4: 71 [April 20, 1 671] 
The petition of Thomas Lynde of Maiden Humbly showeth : That 
whereas formerly a certaine Highway for the Countrj's use was laid 
out through a helde of mine commonly called my further field which if 
so continued and made use of will be very prejudicial to my self and 
posf'y by reason I have so litle land Improveable to corne. 

And inasmuch as there may be a way w'ht [without] my said fielde 

" This house was built by Deacon preseut Pratt house built near the 
Thomas Lynde for his son Joseph. entrance to Forest Dale Cemetery. 
It was demolished in 1S28, and the Corey, History of Maiden, 368. 



46 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

in 1115- other land but a few poles difference and which for several 3'ears 
haue been made use of both b}' the Town and Countrj- M}' Humble 
request to this Honor^ Court is that the said wa}^ may be altered : to 
which end if this Court please the Towns mostly concerned may be 
ordered to choose such persons amongst themselves as they judge 
meet to reveiw the said way & having respect to the Countrys conven- 
iency and saffty with }'Our petitioners and Towns concerne therein and 
to make return to this Court that they may determine therein as in 
there wisdoms they shall judge meet. 

And your petitioner shall be bound to pray &c. 

Thomas Lvnde. 

^^af^cu^ -^ ^ ^*>.r*/c^ "t^ <^*-f C^^S >z^4- 
r<rt^^ C/U^ ^^ *^^a*«reX 4^ <g/^'' rrx^y ^OL^ 

u/«^ <*Afp- "99*^ ^^ y**^ "" ***/ *^ii^ ■^^'^f*^ ^<^ «*- 
iL c^t^j^ ^Aff^i ^^j^ iy^y-^ «f^ 

FACSIMILE OF THK ORIGINAL PETITION FOR CHANGE OF ROAD, DATED 

APRIL 20, 1671. 



ROADS. STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 47 

That this petition was successful, and the road changed is 
made evident by the fact that the Court appointed "John 
Greene, Josiah Convers and Joatham Poole" to view the 
premises "against Thomas L>'nds Land in Maulden" and that 
they "settled the same to pass under the Rock where it now 
lyeth"and that the Court accepted and approved; and from 
that time, instead of continuing on the east side of. Boston 
Rock, as formerly, it left the present Lebanon Street, at the 
junction of Grove, passing through L\-nde Street, by the " Dolly 
Upham " house to the foot of Summer Street; ( Lynde Street, 
as now known, was not extended through to Main Street until 
1857;) thence through Summer Street to Main to where 
Masonic Hall now stands; leaving Main Street soon after, it 
crossed the present Mount Vernon Street east of the "great 
rock" referred to later, and the houses of Edwin S. Small 
and others, continuing on between the present homesteads of 
Henry and the late D. Alvin Lynde, and on close beside the 
foot of Boston Rock, a portion of which road still exists, 
but unused, across the meadow in front of the Ensign Thomas 
Lynde house, then retentl>' built, and on through the Pine 
Banks Park to the old road again to Poorest Street, as ori«>-- 
inally laid out. 

It is almost impossible to obtain exact information as to 
some of the earl\- roads. Many changes were made as time 
went on, and where first a road was travelled, after abandon- 
ment, and a new one utilized, the old became obliterated from 
disuse. 

On a plan of Maiden, surve3-ed by Peter Tufts. Jr., of Mi'd- 
ford, in 1795, b\' authority- of a resoKe j)asse(l by the General 
Court in 1794, thf only roads hu\l down in what was then 
North Maiden, are, the main road as last described, called the 
"Reading Road," now ALiin Street, and the"Stoneham Road," 
which left this near where our Masonic Hall stands, and fol- 
lowed what is now our VVj'oming A\enue, Hurd. Cottage, 
P^oster and \'inton Streets, to the old count\- road leatling to 
Stoneham. now Franklin Street. This "Stoneham Road" had 
been laid out fi\e yt'ars before, in 1790. At the same time 
there existed, but not shown on this map, the road running 
towards the Chelsea line— Chelsea then bounded Maklen on 
the east,— which isr<j\\ out of the followiiiL;- action: 



48 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

At a meeting held July 20, 1713, "It was putt to vote whethar ye 
Town will mend ye way y' Runs from ye country Road neere Sam" 
Grouars To John \\'ilkinsons between ye Raig of lots. And jt past 
on ye negitiue." In consequence of this vote, John Upham, Jonathan 
Barrett, and other inhabitants of the northern portion of the town 
petitioned the Court for convenient highways from their houses to the 
meeting house ; and the Court ordered the selectmen " to look to such 
matters."* 

Sept. 2g, foilow'ing, it is recorded: 

3-t ye select men doe lay out a conuenant high way for Them . . . 
2 pols broad on ye northwardly side of That Raing of lots y^^ Runs 
from John Wilkinsons Land neer his hous down to ye cuntrey Road 
y*^ leads to Reding. — beginning at ye s'^ wilkinsons land. 

"This was a confirmation to public uses of one of the rights 
of wa)' which were laid out between the ranges of common 
land in 1695." Thus early was the higher land between our 
present Upham Street, long know as Upham Lane, and Long- 
Pond, occupied by Wilkinson; and at that time or a little later, 
came others; among them Herring and Breeden. E\-identh' 
the road as laid out above to Chelsea (Saugus) line, was not, 
for many years, utilized only up as far as the Upham houses; 
for the following vote was passed many years later, laying 
out a new route for that end of the road: 

At a Leagal Town Meeting in Maiden Nov"i 29, 1 796, the Town 
did accept of the Report of their Committe chosen to Consider of the 
Expedience of laying out a Road from Maiden to Chelsea line which 
was that the Select Men Lay out a Road so as to accommodate M^ 
Jesse Upham & M'' John Edmunds in the Best Manner they can & 
Aprise the Damages. 

True Copy of the Record. 

Attest : Ebenr Harnden, Town Cler 

Maiden April 21*1 1801. 

This road left Upham Street turning to the south just 
beyond the present Parker Farm Houses, and ran up over 
the hill by the houses then existing, but which have now- 
disappeared, and on down the hill again, over a still existing 
earth-bridge, through the woods to the lex'el, striking the 
Upham Street, as since continued down bv Mr. Uohert\-'s and 
the romantic ledges, and boulders. — our Palisades. 

The Breeden house stood not far from where the road turns 

* Corey, History 0/ iMaldoi, 442. 



ROADS, STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 49 

to go to the Hood and Wyoming Kennels farms. It was built 
about 1730. In 1783, John Edmunds, the Revolutionary patriot, 
and grandfather of the late John Ouincy Adams Avery, bought 
it, together with twenty acres of land, bounding east on Long 
Pond, on the outlet of which then existed a saw-mill. Mr. 
Edmunds died in 1846, aged eighty-nine years; and his grave 
is in the southern part of Wyoming Cemetery. Soon after his 
death the old house was burned, and nothing remains but the 
old cellar-hole, covered by a temporary shed.^ 

The exact location of the Wilkinson house is not known. 

Soon after the Upham road was first laid out, action was 
taken by the town concerning another one, as follows: 

The select men of maiden mett ye 17. of feb 172"^ And doe alow 
of ye Two pools jn bredth y' lieth Att y^ south end of the first Raing 
of ye second Thousand acrs — from boston line to Reding Road To be 
a Town high-way : 

The selectmen on the 15'^ day of noV. 1754 opened A town road 
from m"" James Barrets orchard to Chelsea line between the first and 
second range of lots in the second division. 

Although the latter entries are nearly thirty-three years apart in time, 
they refer to a single way in North Maiden which had existed as one 
of the rights of way between the ranges, and now became a settled 
road. It was formerly Barrett's Lane, and is now Porter Street, 
Melrose. 1^ 

From Upham 's Lane, there ran another road not shown on 
this map, which wound up to the end of the present Spear 
Street, thence down througli the woods, through Mountain 
Avenue, to the present Lebanon Street; thence northerly to 
the old Howard homestead, afterwards the Pratt place, now 
the Poor Farm, and then westerly on to the Wyoming Ceme- 
tery, joining the old 1653 road which went up over the hill 
between Wyoming and Forest Dale Cemeteries, through the 
present "Hillside Terrace" of the Pine Banks Park — east 
of the "Intervale" — to Poorest Street. This was the way the 
Howardsand Prattsof that section travelled to Maiden Centre; 
and the road from Lebanon Street to the cemetery, through 
the farm, is ver\' clearly defined at the jjresent da\-. 

■' John Edinoiuls, Maiden. Cor- 1780. Massac/iusctis Sohiicrs and 

poral, Lieutenant-Coloners Co., Sailors of the Revolutionary War. 

Col. Michael Jackson's regt. ; Con- Vol. v., p. 220. 

tiueutal Army pay acconnts for '^" Corey , History 0/ Mahlen, .\.^. 
service from Jan. i, 1780 to Feb. r, 




Eel Vo„J f-.J .1^ 



THE 
JiAA" •/ jV1aLI>£\ 

Surxcy'd jD //^y By 

T'tc'r Tufh yua 



ROADS, STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 51 

The various ponds are iiulicated on this map, incliuh'nij the 
no longer existing Dix, in the rear of the City Hall. A few 
of the houses then standing are rudely drawn thereon: On the 
old road, James Green, at the extreme north; Vining's next; 
then the William Emerson tavern, which "stood near the old 
well with a narrow cartway between the house and well;"ii 
William Upham, on the present Lynde Street, opposite the 
"Dolly Upham" house; Benjamin L)'nde, where now stands 
Henry Lynde's homestead, and the old Ensign Thomas Lynde 
House at the Fells, without a name. On the "Stoneham 
Road " appears the Phineas Sprague house which stood where 
now stands the residence of the late Mrs. Liberty Bigelow; 
then Captain Unite Cox, the old " Mountain House;" and last 
that of John Larrabee. This rude survey is the earliest repre- 
sentation of the topography of the town of which there is any 
knowledge. The present course of Main Street is indicated by 
the dotted lines. The dotted section on the northwest corner 
shows the portion set off from Stoneham in 1853, and added to 
the territory of Melrose. 

Some roads were laid out at the time of the division of "The 
Commons," mostly in the"Scadan Fells," as will be seen by 
the following: A committee consisting of Lieutenant Joseph 
Wilson, Isaac Hill, Lemuel Jenkins and Nathaniel Upiiam. 
chosen April 9, 1695, niade this report May 8, following: 

Wee subscribers have done according to the town vote at our under- 
standing in staking of highwayes in the sheep paster and the three 
hundred accres namly two poles wide with .stakes blazed one the in- 
side and pillers of stones at the bottom of them 

I. as one the neck side from the Spragues Land, up through the neck 
unto John Greenlands lote in Charlestown bounds [Washington Street. 
going north from the R. R. bridge in Maiden.] 

2ly. A Roade from Joseph Linds house [near " Reed}- Pond " on 
Forest Street, heretofore described] through the sheep paster to 
dexters Rockes [the great ledges in the woods between the westerly 
side of Swain's Pond and Lebanon Street,] then through the lots to 
the second diuision and from tiie foote of De.xters Rokes nortiieste up 
Squiers hill through to tiie seckend diuision. 

3ly. A Roade from Joseph Hoyds through the sheepe paster antl 
three hundred accres to Swaines ponde into the seckend diuision. 
[heretofore referred to as coming from I'pham Lane through Spear 
Street, and through the woods to I^ebanon Street.] 

^^ MSS. letter from his son, Rev. Warren Iviiiersoii. 



52 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

4ly. A Roade from Ezekell Jankens a longe in the sheep paster [the 
territory' east of Wayte's Mt. through which Forest Street runs,] and 
crossing the Roade that comes up from Joseph floydes. and pasing on 
towards the O [Round \\'orld ; the territory west of Lebanon Street, in 
Maplewood, south of the Maiden Poor Farm,] then winding to the 
left through lots into the seckend diuision. 

5ly. A Roade from Leftent Spragues land up through to the Road 
that comes from Joseph floyds : 

61y. A Roade from haywards land branching out to dexters Rockes 
likewise branching up to Swaines pond brooke [the present Lebanon 
Street,] and through the lots to the Roade that comes from Joseph 
floyds : Joseph Willson Samuell Jankens. 

NATHANELL UPHAM. ISACC HiLL. 

These roads, with the exception of the first, traversed the 
Scadan woods, but it is not easy to indicate, only in part, just 
where. One ran easterly from Swain's Pond Road, near Leba- 
non Street, over into the Salem Road. Two of the old ways, 
running from the easterly end of Swain's Pond, are still used 
to some extent; they lead towards the old road which for- 
merly ran from the Salem Road to the iron works at Hammer- 
smith on the Abousett, or Saugus River. The roads which 
have been described were the only ones laid out for many 
years; no new ways were granted until after the Revolution. 
In the earlier days, the scattered and isolated farm houses of 
the old-time residents west of the " Reading Road," noted on 
the 1795 map, were reached b}^ various private paths and cart- 
ways, mostly unnamed. The original manner of reaching 
IVIalden Centre, from some of these western homes was a path- 
way which followed about on a line with our present Cleveland 
Street, crossing Spot Pond Brook, passing Capt. John Lynde's 
house to what is now Washington Street, thence down by the 
cliffs and cascade to Maiden; and the " Stoneham Road," pre- 
vious to the time it was laid out in 1790, had been nothing more 
than pri\ate ways or paths, from house to house, on the west 
side of our present Main Street, beginning at the house of 
Jonathan Howard, Jr., which stood where Masonic Hall now 
stands, and before which grew a majestic buttonwood tree, 
well remembered by some now li\ing. 

One of these ways, which marks the origin of that part of 
our Main Street from above Island Hill, up along by the side 
of Pine Banks Park and Hog Island, was the subject of the 
following Town \-ote March i, 171^: 



ROADS. STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 53 

That Jose Line has libart)' Granted to him and his haires To Raise 
the causewaj' y' Lyeth betweene >-« medo foniiarly cap' waits : und y« 
sd Lines medo so high as to flow y^ s^ lines meddo : and y^ s^ Lines 
doe obUge him self and his haires To maintain y^ s^ causway in good 
Repair suficant for both Town and countrey to pass : — so long as they 
se cause to flow y^ s"? medo Also y« said line has libarty to take earth 
and grauill on y^ high way on y^ Top of y« hill near y^ s<i caseway for 
ye ends aboue s^ 

This way accommodated some of the north end citizens with 
a "shorter cut" to the centre of the town. 

These ways, or paths, were in such a condition in the year 
1757, as to cause a petition to be drawn up "To the Gentlemen 
of the Selectmen of the town of Maiden," asking them to lay 
out a highway from 

near the house of M^ Jonathan Howard Jun^ [at Masonic Hall] over 
his land westerly where the path now is that we usually pass on to the 
Land of phinehas Sprague and so over his land where the path now is 
near by his house [then on the site of the late Mrs. Liberty Bigelow's 
house,] to the land of M"" Samuel Sprague also over his land where we 
usually pass by his house [where L. Frank Hinckley now lives] and 
where Tho^ pratt ye 3d Dwells to our Land at the Gate near our house. 

Among the reasons given were: 

That Said way hath almost always been a Very wet muddy plungj^ 
and uncomfortable place for passing. Secondly our predecessors & we 
have been at a Very considerable expence in makeing and Repairing 
a Considerable Large bridge o\-er Ell pond Brook, said bridge hath 
usually been a Dangerous place to pass over By Reason of its being 
Generally out of Repair. . . . Thirdly another Difficulty we Labor 
under is a Number of uncomfortable Gates we are obliged to pass 
through the Chief of the year which when our wi\-es ride through 
although with Children in their amies are obliged to Git Down to open 
said Gates or Else they are in Danger of their Limbs and Lives too. 

Other reasons are given, but the conclusion of the petition 
is as follows: 

Be So Good as not to Impose taxes on us or dont be uneasy if we 
wont pay any Rates or if we must pay Rates and not have a Rhode to 
Go to meeting to mill ^: to market on be So Good as to be willing that 
we should be Set oft" to another town that will tind us ways. 

Nevertheless, notwithstanding that these "Estates have been 
at so much of the cost of ways in the town both in purchasing 
and Repairing them for other peojjie of tiie town to pass on 



54 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

for above 70 years," it would seem that this road so earnestly 
prayed for was not built until a period of over thirty years had 
gone by, in 1790.^'-^ 

A little later, a cart road over the present Lynde Street, was 
in use from the foot of Summer Street to the present Main 
Street, before the formal laying out and building of the same 
after the town was incorporated; and such was the case with 
other streets; Emerson Street, at the time William Emerson 
built his house on the corner of Main and Emerson Streets, 
was nothing more than a lane, with bars by his house, through 
which he drove his cows to pasture, which was situated west of 
our present central railroad station. 

Howard Street, was laid out in 1788, and built through to 
Saugus, thus making a continuous County road from Stone- 
ham centre to Lynn. 

Main Street, as it now exists, was laid out in 1806; w^hen 
finally, the very crooked old road of 1653, and the successive 
changes that had taken place therein during the intervening 
years, was made a straight street, excepting a moderate bend 
at "Island Hill," from Maiden centre to Greenwood, in Wake- 
field. After this, and until the Boston and Maine Railroad 
was built and opened in 1845, very little was done in the way 
of making new streets ; but soon after the town was incorpo- 
rated, in 1850, many new streets were laid out and built; 
among them Porter, Emerson, west from Main, Youle, Vinton,^ 
Myrtle, Walnut and Essex Streets; in 1852, a highway was 
built " from John Lynde's to Charles Pratt's Gate," now Leba- 
non Street; John Lynde's was the mansion on the corner of 
Grove and Lebanon Streets, and Charles Pratt's was our present 
Poor P'arm; the gate being situated at the top of the hill, at 
the corner of Forest Street ; not long after this road was con- 
tinued "from Charles Pratt's Gate to Maiden Line;" then by or 
before i860, there followed other streets; among them Lynde, 

^- vSome years previous to this, private way from Jonatliau How- 

iu 1751, six residents of North ard's house to that of Phineas 

Maldeu — Phiueas Sprague, Na- Sprague. When finally built it 

thaniel Howard, Samuel vSprague, became what is now the easterly 

Thomas Vinton, Benoni Vinton endof Wyoming Avenue, beginning 

and Phineas Sprague, Jr. — were at Main Street, thence through 

allowed to work out, according to Hurd and Cottage vStreets to F'oster 

custom thtn in vogue, their high- Street, 
way rates for three years, on the 



ROADS. STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 55 

Essex. Green. Grove. Foster. Cottage, \V\-oniin!4- Avenue, IlurtI, 
Trenton, Melrose, Tremont, Sylvan, first called Cemetery Street, 
Vine, Ashland, Linwood Avenue, first called Chelsea Street, 
East Wyoming A\enue, Poplar, Willow. Laurel, now Cedar, 
Winthrop, Mt. Vernon, Linden. Otis, Lake Avenue, Summer, 
Upham from Main to Lebanon, first called Church Street. Cedar 
Park and others. 

As the town increased in population, new dwellings were 
erected, and new streets built, year by year, until the present 
time, when we ha\e two hundred and eighty-sexen streets, 
avenues, courts and places, and fifty-three and nine-tenths 
miles of streets and ways, fort\--two and a c[uarter miles of 
which are public, or accepted streets; the balance are open to 
public use, but not accepted. Of these eleven and a half 
miles are county roads, and are included in the fort\--two and 
a quarter miles of accepted streets. 

In the earh' days it was a common thing to place gates 
across the roads; and the Maiden records are full of votes 
that were passed concerning their construction and mainte- 
nance in the various parts of the town. "While travelling was 
entirel\' on foot, or on horseback, the incon\enience of gates 
was not great; but the gradual introduction of chaises and 
other \-ehicles rendered unobstructed roads desirable." '•' 

Sidewalks. Melrose, if not the first, was one of the first 
towns to lay concrete sidewalks, under the provisions of an act 
of the Legislature, allowing appropriations especially for that 
object to be made, sidewalks built, and one-half the cost assessed 
upon the abutters. The first action, introduced on motion of 
Allen C. Goss, was taken at the Annual Meeting in March, 
1878, when Si 000 was appro])riated for that jjurpose. Accord- 
ingly, Siooo was sj)ent l)y the town, and as much mori.' l)y the 
citizens in front of whosi- residences sidewalks were l)uilt; 
making S2000 worth of concrete- walks, which were laid the 
first year; and tlu- .Selectmen said in their report: 

We feel that this money has been judiciously e.xpended, and that the 
construction of these walks has proved of great advantage not only as a 
convenience to our own citizens, but as an additional proof to strangers 
visiting our town, with the view to coming among us, that we are alive 
to the wants of the community. 

From that day to this, year b\' \ear, an ap|)ro[)riation lias 
^'■^ Corey, History of Maiden. 462. 



56 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

been made, expressly for the purpose of extending new walks; 
$1000 each year until 1887 — except 1885, S900 — S2000 each 
year from 1887 to 1894, with $500 additional for repairs; and 
for the last seven years the amounts have been: 1896, S3000; 
1897, i^3500; and 1898,^3500; 1899-1902,^2500 each; and the 
vote has been broadened so as to include either concrete or 
brick sidewalks; the amount to cover necessar}' repairs to old 
walks, and with the additional requisite that the applicant 
desiring a sidewalk be required to deposit one-half the esti- 
mated cost of same before building. In this manner, our town 
has now many miles of continuous sidewalks, which neces- 
sarily, is a source of great comfort and convenience, not only 
to our citizens, but quickly attracts the attention of anyone 
visiting our municipality with the view of becoming a resident. 
One thing is yet needed: an enforced ordinance making it 
obligatory upon each and every freeholder to clear off his 
sidewalk after snowstorms. That additional luxury will pro- 
bably be experienced in the near future now that " fair Mel- 
rose " has become a city! 

Particularly connected with this subject of roads is the 
following unique description of travel from Maiden to Boston, 
written before the incorporation of Melrose, and about the 
time the railroad was opened for regular travel, by John 
Hay ward, in his New Eiigland Gazetteer. 

Until the erection of Charles River and Maiden bridges in 17S6 and 
1787, this town was as far " down east " in regard to its connection with 
Boston by roads and bridges as any town in the County of York, in 
the State of Maine, now is. In those days, a Maiden lady wishing to 
visit Boston by land, had to rise early and travel by wagon, side-saddle 
or pillion, through Medford, Charlestown, Cambridge, Little Cam- 
bridge (now Brighton), Brookline, Roxbury, and over the Neck to the 
great metropolis, and when she arrived w-as so fatigued by her day's 
journey that she had to rest a day or two before she was able to make 
her calls. But now, how changed ! Those cruel, turnpike killers and 
despisers of horseflesh, the legislators of Massachusetts, have granted 
permission to a number of men to set up a long, narrow building on 
trundles, a sort of travelling meeting-house, with a bell to it, and a row 
of pews on each side of the aisle, drawn by a savage-looking beast that 
keeps pufifing and whistling like a northeaster, and when started, seems 
as if Satan himself couldn't catch him. By this mode of travelling, a 
lady or gentleman at Maiden may leave home at almost anj' hour, go 
clown south to Boston, a distance of live miles, see their friends, do 
their errands, and return in one short sunnj- hour. There are now two 



ROADS, STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. 57 

delightful and flourishing \illages in the town through both of which 
the railroad passes. The number of inhabitants in 1S45, in the whole 
of Maiden, was computed at 2700. 

This picture of tra\'el in those early days, partakes in part 
of the nature of romance; inasmuch as, previous to the time of 
building the Maiden and Charles Ri\-er bridges, the "Penny 
Ferry," crossing the Mystic River from Mystic Side to 
Charlestown had been established as early as 1640; and the 
ferry across the Charles River from Charlestown to Boston 
had existed since the year 1635. Thus a direct way for man 
and beast was made, by which a passage to and fro between 
Maiden and Boston, could be made in a much shorter time 
than that described b\' Mr. Havward. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 

AS HAS been heretofore stated, the territory now Melrose, 
has been occupied by certain original families and their 
descendants for many generations. The genealogy of 
some of them has been published; that of the Uphams by 
Henry B. Upham, and the Greens and Vintons by Rev^ John 
Adams Vinton, in " Genealogical Sketches of the Descendants of 
John Vinton of Ly?i)i, 1648; and several Allied Fainiliesr 

Much genealogical information concerning the Barrett and 
L^'nde families, although in a disconnected state, was left in . 
MSS. by the late Artemas Barrett; and much matter concern- 
ing the Sprague and Lynde families, has been collected by 
Wilton F. Bucknam, a descendant of both families, in his 
Biicknani Genealogy, now ready for the press. 

But a genealogy of these families does not come within the 
province of this history; but certain facts have been gathered 
from various sources, and some interesting matter rescued from 
oblivion, concerning some of these original families and home- 
steads. ^ 

The Lyndes. Among the early settlers in Charlestown was 
Thomas Lynde, who came from England, where he was born 
in January, i5g-;4. He became a freeman in 1634. He bought 
a tract of land which included the site of the present State 
Prison, and which was known until after the time of the Revo- 
lution as Lynde's Point. He was one of the Deputies to the 
General Court for several years, serving first in 1636. He was 
one of the Selectmen of Charlestown for man\' years, and dea- 
con of the Charlestown Church. He became a large land 
owner, and has been st^ded in different documents, "master," 
"malster," "gentlemen," and "yeoman." 

^ This inforniatioti comes in a with citizens and descendants 

variety of ways ; from the Barrett which took place at the time of 

and Bucknam MSS., old records, the historical address, "TheCt-n- 

printed matter, newspaper clip- tennial Fourth," in 1876; and, 

pings, and personal interviews also, those of a more recent date. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. ■ 59 

In the CJiarlestown Book of Possessions, iox 1638, issued in 1878, 
as the Third Report of the [Boston] Record Co}/ii/iissioners, which 
has been called the Domesday Book of Mystic Side,'- Thomas 
Lynde is credited with thirteen items or parcels of real estate, 
besides his homestead "on the southeast side of mill hill." In 
the various allotments of out-lyinsr lauds which had been pre- 
viously made, he had received a uumber of tracts belonging to 
Mystic Side. One of them, evidently received in the division 
of ha\--lots, was described as follows: 

Three Acres of meaddow by estimation, more or lesse. lying on the 
north side of mount prospect, [\^'a3'te's Mount, now crowned with 
Maiden's water reservoir,] butting southeast upon Edward Convers, 
and to the northwest upon the riverett, bounded b.\' the comon on the 
southeast and northeast. 

He also received by allotment, " Eightie Acres of land lying 
in Rockefeilde." Concerning this tract, the following record 
occurs in Charlestoivn Arc/iives, xx: 

[18. 12"." 1638.] Inasmuch as it app? y'. the Land in the great Letts 
y\ was laid out to Thomas Line & Rich'.' Sprague prooves altogeth"; un- 
usefull being nothing but Rockes Wj^ was wholly besides or intent, 
& only through oversight of the Surveyo'-s wee Judge it to bee Just & 
equall y'. they have allowance elswhere to theire satisfaction they leave- 
ing the affores*^ Rocks to lye Common. 

Therefore, Aug. 26, 1639, it was agreed " y'. Tho: Line shall 
have some Land by the Mount Prospect, if upon view it may 
bee had by his Hay ground." This was laid out as proposed; 
and " Here, as the Lynde family increased, several houses 
were built, the oldest of which was probably built by Thomas, 
the grantee, on the site of the brick-end house now standing 
near the entrance of the [Forest Dale] Cemetery on Forest 
Street." =^ 

These two allotments of land formed the beginning of the 
future ownership, by Thomas Lynde and his descendants, of 
not only this land on the northerly side of Wayte's Mount, in 
Maiden, but of nearly all the territory adjoining and now 
included in the southern part of Melrose. 

Deacon Thomas Lynde died in Maiden, Dec. 30, 1673. His 
will was dated Dec. 20, 167 1. In it the institution of slavery 
early makes itself manifest on our New England soil: "As 
also I give and bequeath to her [his wife Rebecca,] my Negro 

2 Qovity, History 0/ Maiden, ()(). ■' Ibid. 



60 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Peter & Negro girl haru to Enjoy and Dispose of as she sees 
good." 

Ensign Thomas Lynde, eldest son of Deacon Thomas Lynde, 
was born in England in i6i6, and came to Maiden some years 
before its incorporation, when it was known as Mystic Side. 
He may have lived for a while in the first house built by his 
father, before spoken of; but soon after, about 1645, ^'^ home- 
stead was built either by himself or his father, just south of 
Boston Rock on the present Sylvan Street, near the north- 
western entrance to Wyoming Cemetery.* This was the first 
house built on Melrose territory. As evidence of this early 
residence of Ensign Thomas Lynde, there is a remonstrance, 
dated March 16, 1648, recorded in the Massachusetts Archives, 
vol. 121, page 21, against the laying out of the highway from 
Winnesimet to Reading as then contemplated, in which refer- 
ence is made to his farm lands, the appointment of Mr. Lynde 
on a committee to take the matter into consideration, and the 
report of the committee thereon, in 1648; and his house is 
referred to in the final laying out of this road in 1653.^ 

He served many years in the Military Company of Maiden; 
was Sergeant in 1658, and Ensign in 1675. This was the time 
of "King Philip's War," and in August of this year Maiden was 
called upon to furnish "ten able horses well shod w"^ bridles & 
sadles well shod fitt for the Countreys seruice." The con- 
stable made the following return: 

I haue im prest ten horses for the us of the centre a cordin to the 

tener of the warent. Edmond Chamberlin. 

Captin John wayt Leftinant John Sprag 

Insine Thomas lind 

Samewill Sprag Samewel lues 

Benjamin whitemore 

Joel Jenkins thomas grouer 

Steuen grouer Symon grouer" 

Ten years later, while still Ensign, he presented the follow- 
ing petition asking for his dismission from the service: 

7]) the Hoiiorcti gcucrall Court : mno sit'ni!^ in Boston The petition of 
Thomas Lyiide of fiia/de/i Hiiini>/y Showeth: whereas you haue bin 

* Geneatogies of the Lyndcs, in ^ These docunieuts are given iu 

MSS. b)- .^rtenias Barrett and Wil- the chapter on " Roads, Streets 
ton F. Bucknam. and Highway's. " 

" IMass. Archives, Ixvii, 234. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



61 



pleased to Commission your Suplyant to y^ ofise of An Ensigne in y*: 
foot Comp> : military of maiden An throuj^h the Jnfirmytyes of age J 
find my Selfe altogether in capasytated to doe you any further Servis 
in Said ofise J beg therefore your dismission from y' servis: and shall 
pray for yo"" prosperyty and Remaine you"" Humble Serv' . 



May 6th, 16S5 



'^/A^<y \^^^iyj^ 



In the year 1670, Ensi\ni Thomas Lynde built, for his son 
Joseph, a homestead on what is now the corner of Main Street 
and Goodyear Avenue, which, with its farm of many acres, 
was owned up to within a few years by one of his descendants 




ENSIGN THUJIAS I^VNDE IIUMESTEAD-KITU. 

of the sixth generation, another Joseph Lynde. Soon after, 
Ensign Thomas left his old home under Boston Rock and went 
to live with his son Joseph, where he remained until his death 
in 1693; '"i<^' another son, Capt. John Lynde, occupied the old 
homestead of his father. 

The house built b>- the father at this time, smaller then than 
now, is at present a large and commodious structure, and is an 
interesting specimen of the ancient colonial architecture. It 
is still in a most excellent state of preservation, and shaded b\- 
its ancestral elms. There are a few houses now standing in 

"^ Mass. Archives, l.\x, 132. 



62 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



New England that antedate this one; there are none that pre- 
sent so fine an appearance. Not many of our modern wooden 
houses will exist at the end of two and a quarter centuries! 
But this is a strongly built, large-timbered structure, capable 
of defying the elements for many more decades.'^ 

The original and main part of this house is the oldest now 
existing in Melrose. There are others that are very old, but 
none that equals this in age, being two hundred and thirt)'-two 
years old. 

In the chapter on " Roads, Streets and Highways," will be 
found a petition signed by Ensign Thomas Lynde, with a fac- 
simile of the same, dated April 20, 1671. This was prelimi- 
nary to the change that was made in the first road of 1653; 
and the action of the Court thereon was as follows: 

This 19 September 71. 

In Order to what the County Court held at Charlestown the — of 
June 1 67 1 who hath Chosen and impowered James grene Josias 
Conuers and Jonathan Poole to state the hyway now Jn question 
towards Redding nere Ensign Thomas linds being in his grounds : : 
we Whos names are aboue mentioned do therefore Se Cause to remoue 
the hywaye from where Jt did former ly that Js to say through the Oald 
feld to the place vnder the rocks wliere the waye now lyes. Witness 



our hands. 



'^ For some interesting items con- 
cerning this old homestead, I am 
indebted to Mr. Wilton F. Buck- 
nam, author of the Bnckna))i Geiie- 
alogy, a lineal descendant of the 
vSpragues, Lyndes and Greens, by 
intermarriage, and who has given 
much attention also to the Sprague 
and Lynde genealogies, as well as 
historic matter relating to these 
families. In a letter dated July 
10, 1899, he states that the original 
house as built by Ensign Thomas 
Lynde in 1670, was enlarged and 
its internal arrangements changed 
by his grandson Col. Joseph Lynde. 
It then had diamoud-paned win- 
dows, which came from England, 
the glass set with lead. These 
windows were afterwards trans- 
ferred to the Jabez Lynde house on 



James Grene 
Josias Conuars 
Jonathan Poole*' 

Washington Street, hereafter re- 
ferred to. The stair-rails, mould- 
ings and tiles for these alterations, 
also came from England. Some of 
the timbers are 14 inches square. 
He also states, that tradition in 
the Lynde family says, that owing 
to some disagreement between Dea. 
Thomas Lynde, the original settler 
in Charlestown, and his son, Col. 
Joseph Lynde, brother of Ensign 
Thomas, that the deacon came to 
live in this new house, which had 
bsen built in part by the father's 
money, and died tliere ; which 
would account for his having been 
buried in Bell Rock Cemetery, 
instead of at Charlestown. 



Midd/t'se.x- Court Fi/rs, October, 



1671. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. G3 

This changed the road from the east side of Boston Rock to 
the west side; "the place vnder the rocks where the wave now 
lyes," still existing, plainly seen and easily followed, leaving 
Sylvan Street a few rods east of Main Street, thence skirting 
the base of the "rocks" by the old stone wall, to the residence 
of the late D. Alvin Lynde, enters our present Main Street, 
opposite the Henry Lynde mansion. This change in the road 
accommodated the new houses then built and to be built by 
the L}'ndes. 

From Ensign Thomas Lynde descended all the Lyndes that 
are now living, or have lived in Melrose. He was one of the 
Selectmen of Maiden during the years 1678, 1684, 5, 6, 7 and 8." 
He died Oct. 15, 1693, aged jj years. By his will, dated 
Oct. 3, 1693, on file in the Probate Court at East Cambridge, 
he divided his farm between his sons Joseph and John ; giving 




r^i^r, f^M'-'-- ,.A.-'r — - - - - geict^Shl^'^^ 

to Joseph the southern portion, and to John the northcni. 
This farm embraced a region about as follows : Beginning at 
the southwestern corner and extending northerly along the 
line of Washington Street to near \V\-(Mning A\enuc ; thence 
easterly along the line of that Axeiuie, and nearly or ciuite to 
Lebanon Street, then southerly, embracing the territ(-)r\- of 
Boston Rock, W\oming Cemetery, Pine Banks Park, antl For- 
est Dale Cemetery, to Forest Street in Maiden; thence westerly- 
to Washington Street, embracing "Island Hill," between Main 
Street and the Boston and Maine Railroad, which in earl\- da\s 

■" Elizabeth, (laughter of Knsigii of a receipt given the executors 
Thomas Lyude, and .sister to Joseph for their portion of the estate of 
and John Lynde, married Peter her grandfather, Ensign Thomas 
Tufts. Her daughter married Ja- Lynde. Tlie black spots were seal- 
cob Hurd, and above is a facsimile ing-wax seals. 



64 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 









a 



i<4.^ 






■■^ '.-■■■ 






't^''*^ 



^^ 



11 The above iMlicr iacMiaile ui .1 l.yiide, Jauuary n, 1736. Mr. 

page of a manuscript sermon which Emerson was the pastor of Mal- 

was preached by the Rev. Joseph den, from 1721 to 1767. 
Emerson, on the death of Mr. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 65 

was surrounded by the meadows of Three Mile Brook. This 
hill is fast disappearing by the restless hand of improvement 
and utility. One of the descriptions in this will contains this 
sentence: " Bounded by a great rock at the corner of John 
Lyndes about 20 rods beyond his house." This "great rock" 
was the well-remembered immense boulder which stood near 
the residence of George Washington Groxer, on IMain Street. 

This house has disappeared; so, also, has a large part of the 
boulder. .These changes took place when Mount Vernon Place 
was laid out, and the houses built thereon, together with those 
on Main Street adjoining. 

Joseph L\'nde, born Dec. 13, 1652, who received the old 
homestead, and the southern and eastern part of the original 
farm, embracing what is now Wyoming Cemetery, died in 
1736, at the age of eighty-three years, lea\-ing his real estate 
to his son Joseph; he gax'e his " negro Dinah " to his wife. 

In the Melrose Public Library is a small volume containing 
four of his printed sermons, which were preached during the 
year 1738. It was at this time that occurred the visitation of a 
terrible disease in Maiden, carrying off two, three, four, and in 
one instance five members of a family, mostly children. In 
the midst of this pestilence the inhabitants cried out " Be- 
hold ! The Lord hath created a new thing in the midst of us. 
It is a very strange punishment that He is inllicting upon us.'' 
It was called a " throat distemper." The titles of two of these 
sermons are: " Early Piety P^ncouraged; A Discourse occa- 
sional by the joyful and triumphant Death of a Young Wo- 
man of Maiden, Who died of the Throat-Distemper, Sept. 
6, 1738. .-Etat. 21." This has an eight-paged "Dedication 
To the Chikh'en and Youth of Maiden." The other was " A 
Word to those that are afflicted very much. A Sermon 
Preach'd at the Lecture in Maiden, October 20th, 1738. On 
Occasion of the repeated and multii)lied Deaths of Children in 
many Families in said Town, by the Throat Distemper." This 
book belonged to one of our Howard family, as is shown by 
the autograph inscription on the fly-leaf: " Nathanael HowartI 
his Book god give him grace hearin to look in the >'ear of 
March the 14 Day 1758." This uniiiue and ancient volume 
was bought at an auction sale and presented to our Public 
Library by John W. P^arwell, Esq.^- 

^2 Facsimiles of the title pages of Corey in his History of Muldtii, 
these two sermons are given by pp. 639, 640. 



66 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

This farm of Dea. Joseph Lynde was bequeathed to his son 
Joseph, who was born September 2, 1690; and it was while in 
his possession that the changes in the old house, heretofore 
spoken of, were made, lea\'ing its outward appearance about 
as now seen. In finishing and embellishing the parlor, he 
adorned the large, old-fashioned fireplace with tiling. His 
father considered this a piece of extravagance, and was so 
incensed that he struck one of the tiles so hard with his cane 
that it broke; and it so remained for many years. When this 
house passed out of the possession of the Lynde family, a 
few years since, during a time C~^ /^ ^ ' — ^ 

of some repairs, these tiles ^_^^y'^^ ^^^ ^ ^^ oc<f 7^^ 
mysteriously disappeared.^-^ ___^_/ 

Joseph Lynde was an active man in town affairs; was one of 
the Selectmen for fifteen years, between 1735 and 1760, and a 
member of the Legislature in the j^ears 1739, 1741 and 1743. 
He died March 16, 1763, aged 72 years. In his will he 
bequeaths his "Negro Dinah," and his farm to his son Nathan, 
who was born July 13, 1732. From Nathan the homestead 
descended to his son Joseph, born July 30, 1769; and he be- 
queathed it to his son Joseph, . /^ 
w4io was born Nov. 19, 1804, and ,^Vv4Ry>-^ °^H 
never married. He tilled its -^ / 
acres until he died in 1875, ^^ ^^^*^ ^?>^ of seventy years, when 
the homestead passed into the possession of his sister, Mrs. 
Rebecca Lynde Eaton; and in 1881, the farm, then consisting 
of 175 acres, was bought b\' Hon. Elisha S. Converse of 
Maiden. Thus had these original acres remained in pos- 
session of the Lynde family, descending from father to son, 
through seven generations, and for a period of nearh' two and 
a half centuries. While the farm and homestead was in the 
possession of the L}'ndes, it always ex'idenced thrift and enter- 
prise. Beautifulh' situated in the \-alle}^ between ranges of 
hills, its spacious mansion, shaded l)y tall ancestral elms, its 
well-tilled acres, large and commodious barns, well filled with 
the products of the farm, flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, 
all indicated one of the good old-fashioned New England 
homesteads, which, alas ! grow scarcer as the years go by ! 

On the western portion of this farm, close under the tower- 

^■^ Afterwards one was given to serted over one of his fireplaces. 
Hon. Levi S. Gould, who had it in- 



c^fr«-« 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



67 



ing eastern ed^e of the Middlesex Fells, and near the Fells 
station, the Boston Rubber Shoe Company, of which Mr. 
Converse is the principal stockholder, built its extensive 
manufacturing- plant, known as Factory No. 2, the works 
at Edgeworth being No. i. This establishment gives em- 
plo3ment to hundreds of persons, many of whom are residents 
of our city, and for whom the Company has built numerous 
dwellings on the surrounding acres.'-* 




."XtLROE. 'AA^^ 



This \-iew of the Boston Rubber Shoe Compan\''s Works at 
the Fells is taken from the summit of Black Rock. In the 
distance is seen the Maiden Water Reser\-oir, on the top of 
Wayte's Mount. 

The eastern portion of this farm, south of Boston Rock 
and \\'yoming Cemeter}-, is now known as Pine Banks Park. 
This is a tract of one hundred and ten acres, nearly all of 
which are in Melrose; a few acres are across the line in Mai- 
den. Its surface is di\-crsified with hill and dale, bold crags 
and winding streams. It has in its central part se\eral pecul- 
iarly formed banks and knolls, and is mostly co\"ered with 
trees; the pine tree largely predominating; hence its appro- 
priate name. 

Under the care and superintendence of Mr. John Davidson, 
Mr. Con\-erse has built man\- smo(Uh and handsome carriage 



'* Since writing this the business Rubber Co.," but the business con- 
has been absorbed by the large tinues in tlie name of the Hoston 
trust known as " United .States Rubber Shoe Company. 



68 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



roads, many of them bordered with shrubs and flowers, wind- 
ing through these acres in all directions, affording miles 




constructed to its top. In the more 
central part is situated the "Summit," 
reached by a winding road, on which 
111 observator}' has been erected; and 
from uiiicli a ciiarmmg view of the surrounding country is 
obtained. Nearby is "Island Pond" with its rustic bridge 
and adjoining picnic grove. 

Between these summits there is "The Intervale," a densely 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



G9 



wooded glen, on the eastern brow of which, connecting Wyo- 
ming and Forest Dale Cemeteries, runs " Hillside Terrace," 
which traverses that section of the old 1653 road between 
Winnesimett and Reading; and on the northern part of this 
Park, bordering on Main and Sylvan Streets, there has been 
established the links of the Pine Banks Golf Club. 

All of this magnificent territory-, luxuriously adorned by 
nature, and lavishly cared for, has been freely opened to an 
appreciative public by the generous owner. Here all are 
invited to enjoy the many walks and drives which intersect 
this sylvan retreat. It is justly becoming a famed resort for 
outing parties. Each season witnesses the coming and going 
of thousands of visitors. 

There is one unique feature in this Park which is not open 
to the public; the rustic "Log Cabin," situated on " Island 
Pond Road," not far from the romantic "Lodge" at the main 
entrance. This belongs exclusi\ely to Mrs. Mary D. Con- 
verse, wife of the owner. 

It is furnished with the old fashioned furniture of former 
days. Its walls are lined with pictures of historic interest. 
It contains many curiosities, trophies gathered from near and 
from far. Among the man>' interesting articles there may 

be mentioned Egyptian can- 
dlesticks, a Roman shield, 
boar's head, Chinese gods, 
spinning and flax wheels, foot 
sto\"e, warming pan, sabres, 
pistols, powder-horn, guns^ 
one with a canteen, from the 
battlefield of " Fair Oaks," 
Confederate — cup and saucer 
from the Spanish "Maria 
Theresa," etc., etc. Occasion- 
al j:)arties are held herein; the 
marriage ceremony of one of 
the daughters of the Superin- 
OLD CORN MILL — NOW STANDING tendcut.was performed there- 
iN READING ROOM OF MELROSE [y^ a short time a<^o 

PUBLIC LIBRARY. ' , . T ■ r 

At the time this farm was 
sold, and the contents of the old homestead scattered b\' an 

auction sale, there was fount! in the cellar a relic of the old 




70 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

colonial husbandry, of "\'e olden time," indeed. It is made 
from an oak lo.o-, a little laro-er and taller than a common 
barrel, dus^- out like a mcM-tar, with iron hoops "around it- 
It has two heavy wooden pestles. It is an old corn or samp 
mill; in it was pounded the corn and grain for family use, 
doubtless before the building of the Coytmore mill, at Mai- 
den Centre, in 1640. At this sale of the farm belongings 
in 1881, this mill was bought by Homer S. Littlefield, who, 
a few years afterwards, presented it to the Town of Melrose. 
This curious and antique relic of by-gone clays is now safely 
cared for in the reading-room of the Public Library. 

Col. Joseph L>'nde, a brother of Ensign Thomas, born June 
8, 1636, was a prominent and wealthy citizen of Charlestown. 
He had much trouble with Gow Andros, in 1687, relativ^e to 
the title of his land. In 1695, he was commissioned by Lieut. 
Gov. William Stoughton, to pursue the Indians who had made 
an attack on the town of Billerica. His report of this expedi- 
tion is as follows: 

Aug". 23';' 1695. Receiving" commission from the Honorable William 
Stoughton, Leutenant Governor, Commander in Cheif, over all the 
province of Massachusetts, with instructions for his Majesty's service 
in the County of Middlesex : pursuant where unto, I went that night 
to Billerica, where I found about three hundred men in arms from 
Woburn, Reading, Maiden, Medford, Charlestown, Cambridge, Water- 
town, under conduct of Major William Johnson ; Major Jeremiah 
Swaine; Major Wade Capt. William Greene; Capt. John Greene; 
Lt. Remington ; Lt. Haman Capt. Gerheld Sergeant Bond and Mr. 
Sherman. That night we marched to the river Merrimack, guarded 
the fords there, being three between Andover and Chelmsford, with 
about fort}' men at each ford, and with about one hundred men 
encamped that Night at Prospect Hill, that lies between Chelmsford 
and the river, on the northern side of the Great Swamp ; leaving the 
remaining forces to guard the town. As soon as it was light, on the 
24 of Aug. instant, we sent men to the top of the said hill, where we 
had a view of the said swamp, and the country far about, but could 
discover no fire an}-where. Thence we proceed to range the woods 
between Andover and Chelmsford, but finding no sign of our enemies, 
we rendezvous at a place called Sandy Pond, about eight miles from 
Billerica eastward ; from whence about ele\'en of the clock that day we 
went to the Great Swamp, dismounted half our men, the other half 
taking their horses. We caused the men on foot to pass through the 
Swamp in a rank, each man at a distance as much as was conveient, 
appointed to rendezvous again at Prospect Hill. Major Johnson with 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 71 

about forty men compassing the swamp on the west side, and myself 
with the rest of the soldiers on the east side. Our men on foot with 
much difficulty got through the Swamp, gave us account that they saw 
a new track and smelt Indians in one place, but did not judge by their 
tracks there were above two. having again rendezvous about four 
o'clock, afternoon, near Prosect Hill, having before noon ranged the 
woods belonging partly to Andover and Chelmsford to the eastward 
of Prospect Hill, we proceeded to range the woods towards Chelms- 
ford; rendezvousing again near the time of sunsetting at the cheif 
fording place on the Merrimack below Hunts Garrison: where I 
advised with all our officers. Having no prospect of doing service 
against the enemy ; considering the evil that had accrued by diuiding 
of all the forces at once. I left a guard of ten men to guard that ford 
under the direction of Hunt and Foster of P>illerica. until the 2()^^ of 
Aug. instant, at night, and then to be dismissed without further order. 
Marching then up to Billerica town in di\erse parties, we rendezvous 
at the OrdinaiT, where paying off the army with thankfuU acknowl- 
edgements for the ready and willing services. — at their request I 
dismissed them according to their desires, to make the best of their 
way home which without doubt they attended: though with difficult}-. 
by reason of the darkness of the night. So concluding, 
I am Sir vour Servant 




^Q>X^ 



Dated at Charlestown. Aug. 25, 1695. 

Capt. lohn L\'n(k-, who r(jcei\ccl from his father, Ensi.L,Mi 
Thomas, the northern part of the farm, left the old orii,Mnal 
house at the foot of Boston Rock and built his new house in 
1693, aiul it stood where lixcd the late Warren Lyndc. The 
farm and homestead is now owned b\' his son, Henry Lx'iide. 

Warren Lynde. of the seventh generation, was born May 15, 
1799, and (lied in I<S8(S at the age of eighty-nine \ears. The 
old house first built by Knsign Thomas Lynde, near the 
entrance to the W\omi ng Cemeter\- was abandoned.^" The old 
cellar-hole and well existed until the wall of the cenieter_\- was 
built. The story is told among the Lynde descendants, of a 
very severe winter in those early times. A long-continued 

1^ Massac/utset/s Arc/iives. Vol. '" .Mr. I'.uckiiaiii slates in the 

51, page 41. Col. Lynde died Jan. letter heretofore quoted, that this 
29, 1727, aged 91 years. old abandoned house stood until 

about i8(X), when it was torn down. 



72 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



snow-storm completely buried the house from sight; and the 
relatives and neighbors went to the house on snow-shoes, and 
could only communicate with the snow-entombed family from 
the top of the chimney, through which provisions were passed 
and the inmates thus kept from starvation. 

The Warren Lynde house, with its contents, was burned 
April 10, 1819, in the night time, the family barely escaping 
with their lives, and the present capacious mansion was built 
the following year by Warren's father, Benjamin Lynde, born 
Oct. 2, 1758, who inherited the place by will from his father, 
Joseph, together with " Island Hill " district of fifteen acres, 




WARREN LVXDE HOMESTEAD. 

situated in Maiden just south of the Melrose line, and the sixty 
acre "Hill Pasture "now known as Boston Rock. Benjamin 
was a member of Captain Benjamin Blaney's Maiden company- 
tnat marched to Lexington, April 19, 1775, "to resist the minis- 
teral troops." 




^' 



^ /^^*<?<K 6 >^ <r-y/^<^C^ 



Captain John L}'nde was one of the Selectmen of Maiden 
during the years 1695, 1700. 1703. 4 'i^^l 1708.^' At this period, 

1'' John Lj'iide was impressed the Maiden military company about 

January, iSy?'^; "hyres pemberton the beginning of the eighteenth 

in his stead ;" was with Maj. Wil- century. Corey, History of Mal- 

lard in 1676. He was captain of den, 325, 718. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



73 



Maiden laws required all cattle to be marked in some manner, 
and each owner's mark to be recorded in the town book. 
Many different ear-marks put upon cattle by different farmers 
are upon record. These marks were snipped on the ears of 
these creatures in every conceivable shape. Under date of 
1689, the record of the one adopted by Capt. Lynde, is as fol- 
lows: "The mark which cap. John Line doe put upon y"^ ears 
of those his creturs which be usually ear marks — That is, y*^ 
top of y^ near eare cut sijuare of, and a slit down in the same 
eare. Also a half peney cut out of y^ under side of y* furder 
eare."i* 

Another Lynde homestead was that of another Joseph, 
brother of Benjamin, who died in 1798, gixinj^ to his son 
John, grandfather of Chief Fire Engineer, A. Wilbur Lynde, 
his farm of thirty acres situated between Grove and Upham 
Streets, east of Lebanon Street, ^ ^o 

together with the homestead j?^>^/>t_ ^^X-^ 9^C^ 
now standing on the corner of ^y ^^^ 

Grove and Lebanon Streets. ^^^-^ 

This came to be known among the Lyndes as "the upper 
house." Until within a very few years a most magnificent 
elm tree stood in the square in front of this mansion. Old 
age, lightning and the gales made such havoc with its far 
spreading and aged branches, that it had to be uprooted; and 
the homestead it had sheltered for over a century knew it no 

longer. Two other farms 
joining this on the easterly- 
side, belonging to John and 
.Samuel Grover, were pur- 
chased and added to this 
in 1786. The old home- 
stead still remains in the 
possession of the Lyndes, 
the present owners being 
Miss Louisa L>nde. Mrs. 
Sarah K. Gage, a sister, and 
Mrs. William LnmhU'. Init 
josKPH i.vxDH HOMESTE.^D. ^,^^. f.^^.,^^^ together with 

some adjoining land, was bought in 1856, b>- Hon. Daniel \V. 
Gooch, Walter Littlefield and Otis Clapp; surve>ed. streets 

" Capt. Lynde added much to to a great extent, buying house- 
his farm in his day. Was a trader hold necessaries in quantity and 




74 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

built, and laid out in house lots, under the name of the " Home 
Association." Several lots in the square between East Foster, 
Sixth, Laurel and Larrabee Streets were reserved, and they 
form what is now know as "The Common." Most of these lots 
were then sold, or soon afterwards, and ha\e been very gener- 
ally built upon. Additional tracts of land were afterwards 
bought and many dwellings built thereon. The whole region 
has come to be known as East Side. 

There were still other Lynde homesteads. The very old 
house on the corner of Glen and Russell Streets, is still in 
possession of the Lyndes, being owned by Franklin G. Lynde, 
who inherited it through a nmnber of generations, from 
the original owner. Captain John Lynde, who inherited the 




JOHN LYNDE HOMESTEAD. 

land from Ensign Thomas Lynde. It was built about 1700, by 
Captain Lynde, for his son John, born April I. 1672; after- 
wards it was bought by Jabez Lynde, born January lO, 1 744; 
from whom it descended to the late Jonathan Lynde, born 
January 15, 17S5. grandfather of the present owner; and who 
died in i86g, aged eighty-five years. The will of Jabez made 
in 1769, speaks of his negro Zachary. The oldest portion of 
this house, to which an addition was built many years ago, with 

selling to the neighbors, taking his days for market. Buckuani, letter 
pay in " barter," and had regular of July 10, 1899. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. lb 

its low-studded, beam-crossed ceilings, is two centuries old. 
Paintinj^s and photos^^raphs vvithout number, have been taken, 
together with description for press and volume, illustrating its 
appearance and antiquity. It is still in very good condition. 
In it was born the late Aaron Green, whose father once tilled 
the farm, which then embraced the estate now owned by Hon. 
Daniel Russell; also the land now Russell Park. 

Captain John Lynde also built for his son Thomas, born 
Oct. 24, 1685, at about the same lime, 1700, the old house 
situated about one hundred rods west of the previous one, 
being the last house on Washington Street before reaching the 
Stoneham line. It has been remodelled and now presents a 
modern appearance. Originally it had a very large chimney 
and fireplace, wide front door through which huge fire logs 
were taken, and 3x4 diamond-paned windows, the glass secured 
by lead instead of putty. 

By his father's will, Thomas had the right "to pass and re- 
pass over to the Reading Road, leading to Maiden, providing 
he allows his brother John to pass and repass over past his 
house to the old road leading from Maiden to Spot Pond." 
This first way was aji old cart path leading from these home- 
steads north of the present Daniel Russell estate, over to the 
present Henry Lynde house to what is now Main Street, then 
the Reading Road. This was the only way the occupants of 
these farms had of getting out to the Reading road for many 
years. Captain John owned a negro boy, Samson, whom he 
disposed of by this same will made in 1747. The old home- 
stead remained in possession of the Lyndes for a number of 
generations. When owned by Jabez, it was alwa>-s spoken of 
as "the Jabe L>'nde place." It has since been known as the 
"Grundy place," having passed from the possession of the 
Lyndes in 1850. Jabez, son of Joseph, born in 1719, was 
Captain of the "Maiden Company of foot," in 1765. When 
troops were wanted for the movement on Crown Point in 1766, 
the following order was issued by Capt. Lynde: 

To M' SaDiiiil Baldwin. Cor' 

Sir you are Required in his Majesties Name forthwith to warn all 
the Training Souldiers Within your Linuiiits to meet at the House of 
Mr James Kettles Inhoklers in Maiden on Tuesday the 17 Day of this 
Instant June, at one of the Clock in the Afternoon with their arms 
Ammunition aquterments as the Law Directs and Make Return of this 



76 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

warrant With your Doings herein at or Before the time Set for S^^ 
Training Dated in Maiden 1766 June g'^^ By Order of Cap' Jabez 
Lj-nds. Ezra Sargeant MiUtary Clark. 

This is endorsed as follows: 

I have warned and Caused to be warned agreeable to within written 
Warrant. Sam^-l Baldwin. 

Capt. Lynde was one of the Selectmen of Maiden during 
the years 1766, 67 and 68. His son, Jabez, born Jan. 10, 1744, 
was sergeant in Capt. Benjamin Blaney's company that went 
to Lexington, April 19, 1775; also in the Point Shirley Expe- 
dition, June, 1776. He received six pounds bounty Dec. 9, 
1776, "Voted by the Town of maiden for Prox'iding a Rein- 
forcement for the american Army."^*' 

In 1781, this Mr. Lynde furnished the town some wood and 
pork, and the following from the Order Book of the Select- 
men of Maiden shows the unsettled state of the currenc)' at 
that time: 

An order on the treasurer to Jabez Lynde for £^2$, equal to $1,083, 
and 2 shillings, in the first emission of Continental Dollars, for half a 
cord of pine wood; and for 125 lbs. of pork at ;?8 per lb. for the poor, 
as by his acct. dated Jan. 9, 1781, may appear. 

Dated in Maiden, Jan. 11, 1781. 

By order of the Selectmen, 

Joseph Perkins, Town Clerk. 

Thus it appears from the foregoing record, that nearly all of 
the territor}' now forming the southern portion of Melrose, 
with the exception of the wilderness portion belonging to the 
Commons and Scadan Woods, originally belonged to the 
L}'nde family; a goodh' number of its acres, which ha\'e been 
inherited from the first settler thereon, Ensign Thomas Lynde, 
still remain in possession of his descendants. 

The following incident is here referred to to show how dif- 
ferently political office is regarded to-day from what it was in 
those early days. There is no date given, therefore it cannot 
be said which of the Joseph Lyndes, and there were many, of 
whom it is recorded, that instead of paying anj'thing to get an 
office, " insign Joseph lynde" paid the town of Maiden ;^5 
to be excused from serving as constable. 

The cost of tuition in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury was somewhat less than it is at the beginning of the 

^^ Corey, History of Maiden, 821. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 77 

twentieth, as may be seen by the foUowin*,' bill paitl by 
Stephen Lynde, son of Capt. Jabez l-vnde, which, among other 
papers, belongs to Mrs. Sarah G. Crafts, nee Lynde: 

Stoneham, Aug. 13, 1806. 
M?.- Stephen Lynde Dr to Patty Crooker 
for instructing two of his Children 12 weeks at Seven Cents for each 
Child per week $1.68 

Rec'd pay Patty Crooker. 

The Spragues. The Sprague families have ever been \ery 
prominent and intimately connected with the historx' of this 
town from its earliest days. It is quite certain that our terri- 
tory was visited and traversed by the three brothers, Ralph 
Sprague, Richard Sprague and William Sprague, who came 
over from England, at their own cost, and 

who with three or four more, b}' joint consent and approbation of 
Mr. John Endicott, Governor, did the same summer of Anno 1628, 
undertake a journey from Salem, and travelled the woods above twelve 
miles to the westward, and lighted of a place situate and lying on the 
north side of Charles River, full of Indians called Aberginians. Their 
old Sachem being dead, his eldest son, [Monohaguaham] by the 
English called John Sagamore, was their chief, and a man natural!}- of 
a "gentle and good disposition,-'^ by whose free consent they settled 
about the hill of the same place b}' the said natives called Mishawum, 
[afterwards called Charlestown,] where they found but one English 
pallisadoed and thatched house, wherein lived Thomas W'alford. a 
smith, situate on the south end of the westermost hill of the East Field, 
a little way up from Charles River side, and upon survey, they found 
it was a neck of land generally full of stately timber, as was the 
main, and the land h'ing on the east side of the river, called Mystick 
River, from the farm Mr. Cradock's servants had planted called 
Mystick, which this river led up unto: and indeed generally all the 
country round about, was an uncouth wilderness full of timber.'"'-' 

-'^ His home in Maiden was upon .Spragues could not have gone on 

the creek which runs from the their journey during the summer 

marshes between Powder Horn of 1628, as above stated. Corey, in 

Hill, on which the Soldiers' Home a letter to the writer, dated Feb. i, 

is now situated, and Winuisemmet, 1901, thinks that the Spragues did 

into the Mystic River, at Sweetser's not come over with Gov. Endicott, 

or Beacham's Point. in 1628, but with Higginson in 1629, 

-^ Charlestown Records, Vol. r. and during that summer made their 
The above record was written by journey. This view is sustained by 
John Greene, in 1664, and is wrong Savage in his Gettcaloi^ical Die- 
in its chronology. Gov. Endicott tionary, and Erothingham in his 
did not arrive at Salem, until Sep- History of Charlestoxvn, p. 14. 
tember, 1628, con.sequently the 



78 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

There is no doubt whatever, but that the Spragues and their 
companions, were the first civilized men whose feet trod upon 
the soil, and whose eyes gazed upon the territory now Melrose, 
who explored with the view of making a permanent settle- 
ment."^"-^ Undoubtedly other explorers traversed our territory 
very soon after the Spragues, for Gov. Thomas Dudley, writ- 
ing to the Countess of Lincoln, in England, March 28, 1631, in 
giving an account of the dispersal of settlers which had taken 
place before this date, at various places around Boston, says: 
" others upon the River Saugus between Salem and Charles- 
town." In travelling from Charlestown to Saugus, seeking out 



-- Couceruiug the route of the 
Spragues during this exploration 
there is some controversy. Corey 
in his History of Maiden, p. 19, 
says: "Their probable course may 
be traced along the Salem path, 
which we may believe alread}- ex- 
isted as an Indian trail." Such a 
trail would necessitate the crossing 
of the Abousett, or Saugus River, 
in what is now East Saugus, and 
near its mouth where it is quite 
wide and deep. A bridge was built 
here about 1639, after which the 
Salem Path undoubtedly was much 
travelled. This entered Maiden b}- 
Black Ann's Corner, then after 
following the present Salem vStreet 
a while ran northwesterly through 
the Scadan Woods into the south- 
erly part of Melrose, thence wound 
around north of Wayte's Mount. 
But I am led to believe differently. 
It is distinctly stated in the 
Charlesto'iVn Records, that these ex- 
plorers " travelled the woods above 
twelve miles to the westward." 
The History of Ly>iii by Lewis and 
Newhall, p. 137, under date of 1631, 
shows a far more proV)able route of 
travel for this early date : " At this 
time, there was no bridge across 
Saugus River, and people who trav- 
elled to Boston were compelled to 
pass through the woods in the 



northern part of the town, and ford 
the stream by the Iron Works, 
which were near the site of the 
present woolen factories in vSau- 
gus Centre." These factories were 
north of the vSaugus Town Hall. 
Here the river was easily forded. 
Traces of this trail existed until 
within a short time. From the 
ford it continued westerly, enter- 
ing the confines of Melrose, a 
little way south of the cliffs be- 
low John Doherty's, on Upham 
Street, entering the woods and 
passing over what became the 
road from Maiden through Sau- 
gus to Lynn, and which was laid 
out in 1796, a part of which is 
now known as Altamont Avenue; 
and so on to the region of Spot 
Pond. After reaching our valley it 
would seem that the Sprague party 
turned to the south, crossed the 
M3-stic, and ceased their journeying 
at Charlestown, where they soon 
afterwards settled. As we shall 
see, the Spragues owned land to the 
west and south of Ell Pond, on 
record as early as 1638, showing 
undoubted ownership some years 
before; clearly indicating to my 
mind, that this valley was thus 
explored and admired during that 
first expedition. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



a proper place for settlement, it is quite feasible to suppose 
that our valley was visited by them in their wanderings. 

That the SpT-agues found this particular tract of country- 
pleasant and attractive, from its varied scenery and adapta- 
bility as a place of settlement, is evidenced by the fact that 
as early as 1638, only nine years later, the Spragues havinj,' left 
Salem and settled in Charlestovvn,-^^ both Ralph and Richard 
owned by allotment, a lar-,fe tract of land near \\\\ Pond,'-^ 
naming it "Pond Feilde." 

This covered a large part of what is now the westerly part of 
the town. Ralph Sprague had "Ninetie acres of land by esti- 
mation, more or lesse, scituate in Pond feilde;" and Richard 
had 

sixtie acres of land by estimation, more or lesse, scituate in pcjnd 
feilde,-^ bounded on the one side by Ralph Sprag^ue. on the northeast 
by ell pond and the river [that comes through the meadow into Ell 
pond. — (ireen,] and on the northwest by the comon.-'' 

All this territor}^ belonging to Charlestown, north of the 
Mystic River, was then called M\-stic Side. 

These three Spragues were the sons of Edward Sprague, a 
fuller, of Upway, County of Dorset, England. Ralph and 
Richard were both prominent in Charlestown affairs, both 
being among the founders of the Church, members of the 



General Court, Select- 
men for several years, 
atul oflicers in the Bos- 



-^^^^ 



^i^^«-^ ^ ^j?^^,,^ 



-•' Richard Frothingham, in bis -■' " This makes it certaiu that 
_History of Chart cstonni, p. 20, gives the first recorded name of the see- 
the names of "The inhabitants tiou now known as Melrose, was 
yt : first settled in this place and Pond Feilde. It also fixes the tak- 
brought it into the denomination ing up of land here, as early as 
of an English Towue," and tlie 1638." .\ildress of Hon. Levi S. 
three Spragues, Ralph, Richard Gould, at annual bancjuet of the 
and William, are first on the list. Highlands Congregational Church 



-^ Variously spelled in early doc- 
uments: Iv, Ell, Eel, Ele, in one 
place in the Charlestown Records &?, 
Elnie; and in the Cogan deed, 
hereafter referred to, " Yeale." It 



in 1897. 

-'' Charlestoii'ti Book of Posscs- 
sioiis, in "Third Report of the 
Record Commissioners of tlie City 
of Boston," pp. 33, 46. I'luloubt- 



was evidently first nameil Iv on ac- e<lly the first compilation of the 

count of its shape and it was always kind in America, 

so considered by the early inhalj- -'" Traced from the original docu- 

itants; but by general usage is now, meiit, now at City Hall, Hostoii. 
and has been, spelletl Ell. 



80 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

ton Artillery Company. William remo\'ed to Hingham, where 
he also became prominent in town affairs. 

Richard and William Sprague signed the document estab- 
lishing the first Board of Selectmen in Charlestown, and 

Ralph was one of the eleven »--, / q ^ 

Selectmen then elected, Febru- /\^<^^-^^C^ ^tcc^c^aA^ 
ar>- 10, 1635. ' — ^ 

The choosing of Selectmen and other officers at Annual 
Town Meetings was first adopted by Massachusetts; and to 
Charlestown — of which we were originally a part — belongs 
the honor of establishing the first Board of Selectmen, in 1635, 
six years after its settlement. Dorchester, two years before, 
had tried a plan which approached this idea, but the inhab- 
itants of Charlestown matured and consuminated it, and 
adopted an order, the original of which is still preserved, 
with the signatures, and of which the following is a cop\-; 
and a facsimile of which ma)- be found in Frothingham's 
History of CliarlcsiozvUy p. 50. 

An order made by the inhabitants of Charlestowne at a full meeting 
for the government of the Town by Selectmen. 

In consideration of the great trouble and chearg of the inhabitants 
of Charlestowne by reason of the frequent meeting of the townsmen 
in generall and y' b}- reason of many men meeting thmgs were not so 
easely brought unto a joynt issue. It is therefore agreed by the sayde 
townesmeix iojmtly that these eleven men whose names are written on 
the other syde, (w^'' the advice of Pastor and Teacher desired in any 
case of conscience.) shall entreat of all such business as shall con- 
scerne the Townsmen, the choice of officers excepted, and what they 
or the greater part of them shall conclude of the rest of the towne 
willingly to submit unto as their owne propper act, and these 1 1 to 
continue in this employment for one yeare next ensuing, the date 
hereof being dated this: lo"' of February 1634 (1635.) 

In witness of this agreement we whose names are under written ha\"e 
set o'r hands. 

Soon afterward the General Court embodied this idea in 
its legislation, and proxided for general town government. 
Thenceforward, from that da)' to this, )'ear after )-ear, the 
people of the towns have met in open town-meeting, and 
with free discussion upon all questions, elected their Board 
of Selectmen, and other officers, and transacted all other 
necessary business. 

-^ Traced from the original dociuneut, now at City Hall, Boston. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 81 

The Town Mcctinij^s of New Kns^laiul have ever been its true 
^Mory; and before the Revolution, they^ were, indeed, "the nur- 
sery of American Independence." Referrinrr to our earl\- town 
system, George William Curtis once said: 

Each town was a small but perfect republic as solitary and secluded 
in the New England wilderness as the Swiss cantons among the Alps. 
No other practicable human institution has been devised or conceived 
to secure the just ends of local government so felicitous as the Town 
Meeting. 

By the year 1640. the inhabitants of Charlestown had so 
increased that many of them had passed over the Mystic 
River and made quite a settlement a little to the south of 
Mount Prospect, now called Wayte's Mount. 

In 1640, Thomas Coytmore, quite often spelled Coitmore, 
who became a freeman in that year, and who was one of the 
Deputies to the General Court from C harlestown, in 1640 and 
1641, built first a dam. .md then a mdl at Black Rock, on Three 
Myle Brook, Mystic Side, on the power made by the water 
flowinnr from Kll and Spot Ponds, joining as they did at Wyo- 
ming; thus furnishing grist-mill privileges to these increasing 
families of Mystic Siders. 

Years afterwards this site was utilized for manufacturing 
purposes. In 1806, three brothers, George, Thomas and Eben- 
ezer Odiorne, purchased the land and water-power at Black 
Rock, and established the manufacture of nails; being the first 
to cut and head them by one opera' ion. William Barrett had 
previoiisly. in 1803, established the silk-dyeing business, on a 
site near the Odiorne mill, and still carried on by his sons. It 
is known as the Alaldeii Dye House. 

Among those who left Charlestown and settled in Mystic 
Side, was Ralph .Sprague, who built a homestead a little to the 
norihwt st of the Coytmore mill. Dxing in 1660, he bequeathed 
this homestead and its farm to his sons lohn and Phineas; 
and bis farm in Pond ImiIcIc, near l.ll Pond, to his sons 
Richard and .Sam ml 

Ihis I{1I Pond farm was situated and bt)unded as follows: 
Beginning at Spot Pond Brook, below Wyoming Station, and 
running northeasti rly on a straight line on east sitle of Cottage 
Street, crossing West Foster Street and the Boston and Maine 
Railroad, through the late \\ illiam Bogle's land, thence cross- 
ing Essex and West Kmersoii -Streets and Lake Avenue, in 



82 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

a straight line, to Ell Pond, just east of the residence of 
the late John Shelton; thence northerly, following the brook 
that runs from Charles Street through Otis Street, into Ell 
Pond. From about twenty rods beyond Charles Street the line 
ran straight to Spot Pond Brook, and then by the brook to the 
point of beginning. The oldest son, John, bought this Ell 
Pond farm of his brothers Richard and Samuel in 1652.-^ The 
part belonging to Richard contained sixtj'-seven acres of 
ploughed and meadow land, and was the westerly half. His 
homestead stood near Barrett Mount, on the southerly side of 
Maple Street, about twenty rods west of Vinton Street. The 
old cellar was visible within the memory of some now living. 
John Sprague was one of the Selectmen of Maiden for many 
years, and a Representative to the General Court in 1690. He 
was one of the committee on behalf of Maiden to la}' out the 
old road of 1653, from Winnesemit to Reading. 

John Sprague died June 25, 1692, aged 68, and b}' his will 
bequeathed his farm to his sons John and Phineas; John li\ing 
on the old Maple Street place; and for Phineas a homestead 
was built out of the estate. This house stood where now 
stands the residence of L. Frank Hinckley, on West Foster 
Street, near the junction of Florence, Vinton and Maple 
Streets. The old well belonging to this homestead, with its 
ancient well-sweep, was on the opposite side of the street, 
near where now stands the beautiful and symmetrical elm 
tree; the spot is now covered by Florence Street, then only 
a pathway. This well was in use as late as 1850. 

John Sprague was Captain in the Militar>' Company of Mai- 
den, and Phineas, Ensign, in 1689; and their pre\'ious military 
record is given by Corey in his History of Maiden, p. 327, as 
follows: "John was with Maj. W'illard in 1676;" and P^hineas 
"was with Lieut. Hase}- in the Three Count>- Troop in 1675 
and 1676; was with Maj. Williard in 1676; and with Capt. 
Wheeler in 1676; John was at different times, linsign. Lieuten- 
ant and Captain in the Military Company of Maiden. Both 
lohn and Phineas were of the seventy-four proprietors and 
freeholders who shared in the allotment of the Commons. 

His brother, Phineas, was a Representati\e to the General 
Court in 1691; and there is a record of hi.s pay as such mem- 
ber. He received £\0, iSs, 7d for eighteen weeks and two 

^■' Middlesex Registry Deeds, Book 3, p. 207. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



83 



da}'s service; about two shillings per day. Quite a contrast 
this, to the amount paid the present members of our Legis- 
lature.^'' 

As did Capt. John Lynde, so did Phineas Sprague, keep, not 
as a store, but in a limited way, a certain line of goods, which 
he bought in considerable quantities and "bartered" with his 
neighbors.^^ 

John Sprague, son of Capt. John, was a constable of Maiden, 
and during his term of service it became his duty to serve, 
among others, the following warning, duly recorded in the 
Town records of 1745: 

To vir John Spragiic, constable of the town of Maiden, Greeting. 
In his magestys name you are required forthwith to warn Thankfull 
Burden that she forthwith depart out of this town, and that she take 
her child with her. and that they be not resident longer any in said 
town ; and make return of this warrant with 3-our doings herein to me 
the Subscriber. Dated in ]\Iaklen august the 26 day, 1745. By order 
of the Selectmen. John Shute, Town Clerk. 

thankfull Burden above mentioned, is warned according to the tenor 
of the warrant per me. John Sprague, Constable.^- 

Phineas Sprague, brother of John, died in 1736. He left two 
sons, Phineas and Samuel, to whom he bequeathed his two 
farms; and for Phineas he 'built, in 1720, a homestead on the 
spot where now stands the residence of the late Mrs. Liberty 
Bigelow, on West Foster Street, and to Samuel he gave the old 
homestead, which he afterwards deeded to his brother Phineas, 
in 1 761. Middlesex Deeds, book 63, p. 198. This Phineas died in 
1775; and b>- his will the property passed into the possession 
of his son Phineas, the fourth of the name, who was born in 



^'^ Sixty years later the compen- 
sation had not much increased as 
is witnessed by the following vote 
passed in Town Meeting in May, 
^753- "Voted That the person or 
persons that shall be chose at this 
meeting to represent the town in 
General Court shall manifest to the 
town at sd meeting that he or they 
will draw out of the treasury the 
money that may become due by law 
to him or them for Sitting in said 
Court and then immediately deliver 
itjto the town to be for the towns use 
excepting two shillings and eight 



pence per day to a man to be at his 
or their own dispose and if any 
person or persons refuse to serve 
upon said condition the town to 
proceed to another cho3-ce or 
choyces." Joses Buck nam was 
chosen Representative for that 
year and upon those terms. 

■'1 Bucknam, letter of July 10, 
1899. 

•*- The practice of warning all 
new comers was followed in order 
that no one might become a " town 
charge." 



84 • HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

1725, in this West Foster Street house, where he lived and died. 
He had several sons, to one of whom, Jonathan, he gave the 
old homestead built for Phineas, the first of the name; which, 
having stood a hundred years, he demolished, and built the 
house now occupied by Mr. Hinckley. Another son was also 
named Phineas, the fifth of that name; but at the death of 
the father, Phineas, in 1805,^^ at the age of eighty years, his 
homestead passed into the possession of another son, Cotton 
Sprague, who owned it until 1830, when it was sold, and was no 
longer owned by the Spragues. Cotton Sprague was a prom- 
inent and influential citizen. He was a member of the Legis- 
lature for the years 1823, '24, '25 and '26. In 1S28 this place 
was bought by William Foster of Boston, who demolished 
the old house, and built the one now standing and owned by 
the estate of the late Mrs. Bigelow. The ver>' large, magnifi- 
cent elms in front of this estate are more than a century old. 
The eighteen acres in front of the house were purchased in 
1845, by Jeremiah Martin, cut up into house lots, and are now 
entirely covered with buildings. 

Phineas seems to have been a favorite name in the Sprague 
families; and Phineas, the fourth, was the father of the late 
Captain Phineas Sprague, who was born in 1777, during the 
Revolution, and who built the house now standing, in 1812, on 
Main Street, opposite Ell Pond, in which he spent a long life, 
dying in 1869, at the age of ninety-two j'ears. He was a shoe 
manufacturer, and continued to make and carry his shoes to 
Boston until within the last year of his life. "He was a 
worthy citizen, highly esteemed and respected by all who knew 
him." The old homestead is now the property of Samuel H. 
Nowell. 

Samuel Sprague, one of the veterans of the Civil War, and 
who lost a leg at Antietam, is also a descendant of the Revo- 
lutionary Phineas Sprague. 

Phineas, the fourth, who lived on West Foster Street, was 
the Revolutionary patriot, of whom many interesting anec- 



^^ His epitaph rau as follows: His alms with liberal heart he gave 

"In memory of M'' Phiuehas unto the Sons of need 

Sprague who died this life Decern- His memory will to ages Live 

her the 28 aged 80 years andomy though he be gone in deed." 
1805. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 85 

dotes are told. He kept a diary. One record therein gives 
some details concerning the old couplet: 

In 1780, the nineteenth day of May, 

Will ever be remembered as being the dark day. 

Friday, May the 19TH 17S0. 
This day was the most Remarkable day that ever mj- eyes beheld 
the air had bin full of smoak to an uncommon degree So that wee 
could scairce see a mountain at two miles distance for 3 or 4 days Past 
till this day after Noon the smoak all went off to the South at sunset a 
very black bank of a cloud appeared in the south and west the Nex 
morning cloudey and thundered in the west about ten oclock it began 
to Rain and grew vere dark and at 1 2 it was allmost as dark as Nite so 
that wee was obliged to lite our candels and Eate our dinner by candel 
lite at Noon day but between i and 2 oclock it grew lite again but in 
the Evening the cloud caim over us again the moon was about the full 
it was the darkest Nite that ever was seen by us in the world. 

During one of the intercolonial wars between the French 
and English Colonies, this same Sprague furnished a substi- 
tute. 

Jan. 13, 1 761. 
Received of Phinehas Sprague june'r eight Pounds lawful money it 
being for my going a Solger to forte Cumberland and I had a promes, 
not of Six Pounds be fore. 

Pr me John Batts. 

When slavery existed in Massachusetts some of these old 
families in Melrose were slave-holders, as is witnessed by fre- 
quent items in the history of these old familes, and by the fol- 
lowing document given to this same .Sprague. Although it 
existed in a "mild and patriarchal form," it was real slavery, 
nevertheless, and human beings had a money \-alue, and were 
bought and sold like cattle or real estate: 

Know all men by these present that I. Thomas Nickels, of Reding, 
In the County of middlesex, gentilman for and in Consideration of the 
sum of thirty three pounds six shillings and Eight pence lawfull 
money of New England to me in hand paid by piniash Sprague, Jun 
of Maiden in the same County above s'' Cordwinder whereof I do 
hereby acknowledge the Receipt and my selfe therewith fuly and 
entirely satisfied have bargened sold set over and Deliverd, and by 
these present in plain and open markit acording to the due fourm of 
law in that case mad and provided do bargain set over and Deliver 
unto the said phinas Spraigue Jun a negro woman namd pidge with 
one negro boy to have and to hold to his proper use and behoofe of 



86 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

him the said phinas Spraigue his heirs, executors administrators and 
assigns for ever and I Thomas nickles for my self my heirs executors 
administrators and asigns ganst all in all manner of person I shall 
warrant and for ever Defend by these presents In witness whereof 
with the Deliver of the bargained persons I have set to my hand and 
seal the twentj'-live Day of april in the i 7 fifty-three year of y^ Raign 
of oure Souerign lord gorg the Second ouer grate Britton. 

Thomas Nichols [seal]. 
Signed and our Seal 1753 and Delever in the present of us. 

JoNA Kidder. 
Edward Lambert. 
And the following anecdote is told concerning one of his 
slaves: 

He (Phineas 3'?.) owned a number of Negroes, and made the credu- 
lous darkies believe that he could find out by arithmetic any mischief 
they had been up to. So when a neighbor made a complaint that he 
had reason to believe a certain negro had stolen a cart chain, he called 
the negro up and told him he suspected he had been doing wrong, and 
unless he owned up. he (Phineas 3''.) should figure it out. There being 
no confession, he would then take his chalk and board and sit down to 
cipher. In a few moments he would musingly say, " links three inches 
long ; links three inches long, what does that mean ?" Then turning to 
his " boy " he would say, " Pomp, " or whatever his name might be, 
" Pomp, 3'ou have been stealing sausages." Pomp, astonished at such 

arithmetic, would say, •' no, Massa, me no steal sassage, me steal cart 
chain." 34 

Concerning his military life we have the following: 

Although somewhat advanced in life, and being quite deaf, when 
the Revolutionary War broke out, and the call was made for the 
"minute-men," he joined the Maiden Company, under Captain Nayler 
Hatch, which went first to Beacham's Point, and then in the night, to 
Concord and Lexington. Mr. Sprague's " heart was as impervious to 
fear, as his ears were to sound;"' and when the rest of his comrades 
were flying from the view of the enemy, he was seen upon a piece of 
rising ground swinging his hat. and shouting victory .35 

In the Centenial year, 1875, an anonymous communication 
in the Melrose Jounial, " Melrose in the Concord Fight," ga\'e 
this additional item concerning his Revolutionary history: 

That day was made glorious by the courage and patriotism of the 
yeomanry of old Middlesex, and it is fit and proper that Concord and 

^■* Letter to Artenias Barrett from '^ Thauksgiviug discourse at Mal- 

Samuel Poor, June 1876. den, Dec. i, 1831, by Rev. S. Osgood 

Wright, p. 24. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 87 

Lexintrton should send greetings to the other towns of Middlesex 
County, and in\-ite them to be represented on the occasion of the one- 
hundredth anni\'ersary of the most creditable events of American 
history. Melrose (at that time known as North Maiden) was but a 
small hamlet of a score or two of dwellings, and perhaps but a score or 
two of men capable of bearing arms; but some of them, on hearing of 
the march of the British to Concord, left their work, took their arms, 
w^ent across to intercept them, and did noble service to the cause of 
freedom. Among others was Sprague, a grandfather of the late Capt. 
Phineas Sprague of Melrose, and a worthy by the name of Edmunds, 
whose names have come down to the writer by tradition. Sprague, 
ownmg a gun, took it with him. Edmunds had no arms ; but when 
they arrived at the scene of the conflict, . Edmunds, having recon- 
noitered, discovered a British soldier prowling away from the main 
body of his comrades, and borrowed the gun from his neighbor 
Sprague and went for him. When he encountered the soldier they 
both tired at each other at the same time, and both remained unhurt. 
They then reloaded their pieces ; but the Britisher, having a cartridge, 
was the first to load and fire, and missing his opponent took to his 
heels. Edmunds, loading his piece from a powder horn, required more 
time, but when his flying opponent mounted a stone wall in his retreat, 
he, with a well directed shot, brought him to the ground, securing as 
trophies a good king's arm and his other accoutrements, also, what 
was undoubtedly very acceptable, the rations the soldier brought 
from Boston. Thus were two of our country's heroes well armed, and 
from the accounts that tradition has brought to us, they bore them- 
selves bravely through the day, being in the thickest of the fray. 

This same communication relates the following concerning 
a later experience of Mr. Sprague, when he and others made 
an effort to cross Mystic River during the progress of the 
battle of Bunker Hill, but were prevented by an English vessel 
in the river: 

At low water there was a foot-way to the channel and a boat to cross 
with. Mr. Sprague, who was quite deaf but very courageous, was 
determined to go over, and when on his way he was shot at from the 
vessel. He several times dared them to fire, and they shot several 
nine-pound balls at him, which missed and were lodged in the bank of 
the river. He afterward dug one of them out and said he wanted to 
keep it to remember the devils by. That ball was in the possession of 
the writer for a long time but it has disappeared. 

One of the sons of this Phineas, was Dr. John Sprague, who 
was born January 13, 1754, in the old Foster Street homestead, 
but became a resident of Maiden Centre, where he practiced 



88 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

medicine for thirty years.^*' He served as surgeon's mate in 
Col. Ebenezer Bridge's Regiment, in the early part of the 
Revolutionary War; entered the naval service as surgeon, was 
taken prisoner in 1777. After being exchanged, he again 
became a surgeon in the navy, was again taken prisoner, 
carried to Kinsale, on the coast of Ireland, detained until the 
winter of 1781-2, when he was released. The following is a 
copy of his discharge, the original of which is in the possession 
of his grandson, Charles H. Sprague, of Maiden: 

To all Whom it may Concern. These are to certify That the Bearer, 
John Sprague an American Prisoner of War, late Surgeon on board 
the Thomas Merchant Vessel, is set at Liberty Pursuant to an Order 
from the Hon'ble Commissioners for Sick and Wounded Seamen and 
for Exchanging Prisoners of War. Dated at Their Office on Tower 
Hill London, The Thirteenth Day of November Jnstant. Civen 
under my hand this Twenty Second Day of November 1781 

J NO Howe Agent 
for Prisoners of War, at Kinsale. 

He once more entered the service as surgeon and remained 
until the close of the war. He practiced medicine in Maiden 
until his death, October 2t, 1803. He was a man of strong 
passion, and quite a wag, withal. The late Artemas Barrett, 
whose grandmother was a sister of Ur. Sprague, relates the 
following: 

Several years ago the writer met with Capt. John Smith, a retired 
gentleman in Boston, a native of Maiden, who remembered Dr. Sprague 
very well and said he was a highly esteemed citizen and a very skillful 
physician, that when he was born Dr. Sprague attended his mother 
and said in a merry way if she would name the hoy for him lie would 
give him a sheet of gingerbread, so his mother in a merr}- mood named 
him John. Capt. Smith furtlier said that Dr. Sprague had such a 
lucrative practice it brought a rival to Maiden, a Dr. Goss from Cape 
Cod to compete with him for the patronage. The mode of traveling 
in those times was on horseback with a pillion behind the saddle on 
which the wife could ride. Dr. (loss staid awliile and not succeeding 
was obliged to leave the 
town or starve. Soon 
after his departure Dr. 
Sprague wrote a poem 
which he posted m thu 

*' The name Phiueas is still in Dr. John Spra<j;ne's son John, l)orn 
evidence in the Sprague family! in 1781, was Town Treasurer of 




OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 89 

public places in Maiden. Capt. Smith repeated the poem, but the 
following verse is all that I remember : 

Doctor Goss mounted his horse 

And took his wife behind him 
He's gone to Cape Cod so far from God 

It would puzzle the devil to find him. 

It is characteristic of the Sprague's to abound with wit, humor and 
good nature. 

Mr. Barrett also relates the following concerning two sons 
of Dr. John Sprague: 

A few years ago the writer had occasion to write a letter to one of 
Phineas Sprague's grandsons, Peter S. Sprague, an old gentleman 
nearly ninety years of age, living in Greenfield, Mass., and received a 
reply through the mail directing it with the following superscription 
covering the whole of one side of the en\'elope : 

To the Postmaster. Now this letter I wish to have 
Go down (before it stops) unto my native town 
Where once I counted my good friends by dozens 
Besides some thirty yea some forty cousins 
And now then I'll direct you further still 
Its five or six miles north of Bunker Hill 
If yet you cannot see Sir where this goes 
Send to Artemas Barrett of Melrose. 

On the other side of the envelope was written the following : 
You see that I am far from hQm% green 

Though of this fact the public's not aware 
Well many a flower's born to blush unseen 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 

Here is exhibited the peculiar bent of mind running in his father's 
family. John Sprague, his brother, lived and died in Maiden. In 
early life he was a shoemaker, afterwards a merchant, and became one 
of Maiden's most substantial, wealthy and honored citizens, holding 
many offices of trust. Early in the present century he connected him- 
self with the Baptist church. Difficulties soon arose in that church 
about settling a minister, who bore the title of Elder, in which he took 
part. In 1812 he wrote a brief history of the trouble and published it 
in pamphlet form which is now extant bearing this title : T/ie \ History \ 
of I Wars and Fightings \ [ Without Shedding of Blood.] \ in the \ Bap- 
tist Chiireh, \ in Ma/den. \ Written by \ fohn Sprague, Sh., Mah., \ 
One of the Metnbers. \ Together With Some Poetry Never \ Before 
Published. 

Maiden many years, and father of ren, born in i860, has a son Phineas 
Charles Hill Sprague, born in 1827, vShaw Sprague, born in 1901. 
still living. His son, Phineas War- 



90 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

This title indicates the style of the work. He commences with the 
following original : 

My heart's desire is, and I'll pray 
The elder and the deacon may 
Have all their wickedness forgiven 
And cease to sin, and seek for Heaven. 

And when their lines they do look over, 
And see they've sinn'd against Jehovah 
O may they on their knees fall down, 
Confess to God, lest he should frown. 

Now may the Lord, who dwells on high 
Forgive their sins, and pass them by. 
That through the Saviour's love and merit, 
The\' may eternal life inherit. 

Dr. John Sprague's brother William, also served in the 
Revolutionary War. He was in the 

Lexington alarm, 1775 ; in eight months' service with Capt. N. Hatch, 
Lieut.-Col. Bond, 1775: with Capt. B. Blaney in Point Shirley exp., 
Jmie, 1776; drafted and marched for Horse Neck, with Capt. John 
Walton, Col. Brooks, Sept. 26, 1776; in Rhode Island service with 
Capt. Stephen Dana, Col. Whitney, Ma}-Jiily, 1775; lost on armed 
brigantine "Massachusetts," 1770. How he went from home with 
" his maits " and never returned may best be told in the quaint words 
of his father, Phineas Sprague:^' 

William Sprague being in the twenty seacon year of his age Shiped 
himself with a number more of his maits on board the massachuset 
Brig so called Bound to France with 14 carige gunes and a Hundred 
men — the Nex Nite after She Sailed a Voilent Storm of Snow caim 
on and Nothing of them could wee ever Hear of them Since tho it is 
Now above three years Since he took his leive of us and Bid us Fair 
well.:^^ 

The original way of tra\"elling- from these Sprague houses 
to Maiden Centre, was in a pathwa)' which was nearly on a 
line of the present Cleveland Street, crossing Spot Pond 
Brook, thence over the Lynde farm to what is now Wash- 
ington Street, the present " backroad " to Maiden. 

The Greens. As were the Lyndes, almost the sole pro- 
prietors of what is now the southern territory of Melrose, 
so were the Greens, for a long while during the early years, 
settlers and owners of what is now the Melrose Highlands, 

^' Corey, //isfory 0/ Jl/a/i/c'?i, S05, -'^ From Diary of Phineas Sprague 

829. now lost. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



91 



and a large part of Greenwood, in Wakefield, which, doubt- 
less, received its name from that family; their land also ex- 
tended westerly into Stoneham as far as Doleful Pond. Then 
came another of the older families, the Vintons, who, inter- 
marrying with the Greens, in process of time came to possess 
a large part of the Highlands territory; holding it until about 
the time the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, in 1845, 
when, during the next few years, the land ownership almost 
wholly passed from both families into the possession of the 
fast growing population of that part of Melrose. Only a 
small portion of the original Green land is now owned by any 
one of that name. The family of the late Aaron Vinton, a 
great-great-grandson of the original settler, Thomas Vinton, 
still owns and cultivates a small farm, situated on the north- 
erly side of Howard Street, near the Saugus line. 

The first settler in these Highlands was Thomas Green ;^^ 
who was born in England about 1606, came to America in 1635, 
and to Maiden as early as October 28, 165 1, when his wife 
Elizabeth, and daughter bearing the same name, together with 
thirtj^-four others signed a petition to the General Court, in be- 
half of Maiden's minister. Rev. Marmaduke Matthews, praying 
for an excuse for some of his errors and failings. He was one 
of the Selectmen of Maiden in 1653 and 1658, and serv^ed 
many times on the Grand Jury of the County of Middlesex. 
He came into possession of his farm at the Highlands in the 
following manner: Thomas Coytmore, who first settled in 
Charlestown, where he became quite an extensive land-owner, 
and where he was a Selectman, and Representative to the 
General Court, and who built the mill at Mystic Side in 1640, 
before spoken of, came into possession of one hundred and 
fifty acres of land King north of Ell Pond. The following 
order gives the onlv instance known where the name of our 



^^ " In view of our recent rapid 
growth, and the evidences of youth 
on every hand, it is hard to believe 
that in the days when Oliver Crom- 
well was marching at the head of 
his victorious legions, and all 
Europe trembled at his voice, with- 
in the sound of your curfew, and 
upon this very street, [Franklin] 



Thomas Green was living in peace 
and in comparative security, saving 
from the ever present danger of 
the lurking and wily savage." 
Address of Hon. Levi S. Gould, at 
the Annual Banquet of the High- 
lands Congregational Church in 
1897. 



92 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Pond is given as Elme, as it is here in the margin, but not in 
the body of the order: 

1648 
Ordered to lay out young The 2oth day of the ^d of March it was agreed 

Tlios. Coitmore's -^ , rr^, t • 1 

two lots by Elme Pond, to entreat of Bros. Robt. Hale and Thomas Lind 
to lay out young Thos. Coitmore's two lots by Ell pond, he to send 
one to go with them to help them. 

Coytmore died in 1648. His widow married first, Gov. 
John Winthrop; and after his death in 1649, ^^i*^ married John 
Cogan, of Boston, and they came into possession of these one 
hundred and fifty acres. Four years later, in 1653, John and 
Martha Cogan sold and deeded one-half of this farm to 
Thomas Green.**^ He built his homestead, a block house, on 




THlv OLD JOHN GRHKX PI.ACK. 

what is now the centre of Pratt .Street, half\va>- between the 
present Franklin Street and Highland Avenue. It was built 
strongh', and used as a garrison and place of refuge in times of 
trouble between the early settlers of that region and the 
Indians. This old house was demolished about the year 1800, 
and a new one built nearby, on the old Count>' road, now the 

*" I have iu my possession the tains some curiousl}- expressed 
original, quaintly spelled, and conditions, 
time-stained indenture. It con- 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



93 




PLATTERS AND WINE GLASSES. 



corner of Franklin and Sargent Streets, where now stands the 
house of Mrs. R. ]\I. Taylor. 

This house was moved a few rods back and now stands on 

Howie Court. It has received alterations and improvements. 

This group of two large pewter platters and two wine 

glasses, belonged to the original Thomas Green, and were 

brought by him from Eng- 
land. He was a passenger 
on the ship Paull, which 
sailed from London, and 
arrixed in V^irginia, Juh' 6, 
1635. There were originally 
fourof these platters. These 
two ha\e descended from 
generation to generation, 
and were the property of 
the late Mrs. Dexter Pratt, 
of Melrose Highlands, a de- 
scendant of the eighth gen- 
eration. Mrs. Pratt, (//r^-' Abigail Southwick) was born on the 
old Green farm, about a dozen rods from where she resided at 
the time of her death. Thomas Green bequeathed his farm to 
his sons, Capt. William and Henr\', one-half each. William 
was made freeman in 1668; was member of the Maiden Church, 
Captain of a Military Company, and Selectman of Maiden for 
the years 1678, 1683 and 1702. William sold his half to his 
brother .Samuel in 1670, and from that time Samuel occupied 
" the old mansion house." In 1684, he bought the other half 
of the farm of his brother Henr\'. When "The Commons" 
were about to be divided among the freeholders of Maiden the 
following \-ote concerning this property was passed at a Town 
Meeting held May 18, 1694: "That Samuel Green shall Injoy 
his hous and y*" land y' stands on, and so much land about It 
as y^ Commite shall se cause to lay to It;" and when the divi- 
sion was mack' the ne.xt )'ear, another reference to it was made 
when describing lot No. 64, of "The Commons:" "Part east 
against Redding Rhode and part on y^ west of y^ Green's 
farm." 

Afterwards this homestead reverted to John Green, son of 
William. He was a selectman of .Stoneham in 1735. This was 
after this part of North Maiden had been set off to Stoneham, 



94 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

which, years later, came back to Melrose. John's will men- 
tions his son John, who has " my dwelling-house and farm and 
the land adjoining, that h'eth on the west side of the country 
road that leadeth from Maiden to Reading, that was my grand- 
father's; " and son Jonas has " all my land on the east of the 
country road aforesaid." He built thereon a house, just this 
side of the Wakefield line, on Main Street, which disappeared 
a few years since. 

John Green left his property to his son John, who be- 
queathed it to his only son John, who was a bachelor. Be- 
fore the death of the latter, he de\'ised it to William Green, 
or, more truly to his wife, Abigail Green, who li\ed with him 
many years, says the ]'inton Genealogy, and took care of him 
,in his old age, till the very end. At the death of Abigail 
Green, Nov. 6, 1848, she left the propert}' to her sister Sarah, 
widow of Aaron Green, who was a descendant in the fifth gen- 
eration from the original Thomas, by another line. At her 
death the property went to her daughter Abigail, who married 
Edmund B. Southwick. This daughter, Abigail, was the sister 
of the late Aaron Green, who was born in the old Lynde house, 
on Russell Street, March 14, 1802, and who died April 23, 
1882, eighty-two years of age. Mr. Green served sex^eral years 
as one of the Assessors of Melrose; was also on the School 
Committee. 

There were other descendants of the original Thomas Green, 
who li\'ed on other farms on the territory first Charlestown, 
then Maiden, then Stoneham, and then JNIelrose. Others 
li\'ed in Maiden proper. Onl}' the ownership of the homestead 
of the first settler is here traced. 

In 1682, John, Henry and Samuel Green, bought of Thomas 
Robinson and John Floyd, the northerh' part of a farm north 
of Ell Pond, bounded easterly b}- the "Redding highway, 
northerl}' and westerl)- on the Common land southerly b)- 
y*^ said Greens land."-^' It was in what is now Melrose High- 
lands. On this farm was iDuilt the homestead for John Green. 
Henr\' Green's farm and house was situated near tlie corner of 
Franklin and Vinton Streets, and it afterward passed into the 
possession of the Vintons. Isaac, son of above Samuel, had 
his homestead on w hat is now Ashland Street, a few r(-)ds south 
of Franklin Street. In 1758, he sold his estate to Thomas and 

^^ Middlesex Deeds, liook 8, pp. 301-2. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 95 

Hannah Vinton. Hannah was Isaac's daughter. The farm 
consisted of nineteen acres, and was " bounded northerly and 
northeasterly by a Lane that goes from my dwelling house to 
the Count}' Road." This lane is now Ashland Street, and the 
County road Franklin Street. 

Another Isaac Green, a grandson of Thomas, lived about 
half a mile west of the Highlands Station. He was a Select- 
man of Stoneham in the }'ears of 1745, '53, and '58. Thg 
following is a cop\' of a unique receipt he ga\e on account of 
an indebtedness: 

Malden, July 3-e 20th i-j^g, 

Recei\'ed of Benoni \'inton of Maiden the sum of fiftj' pounds 
Lawful! nione}- being in full on all accounts debts dues & Demands 
due or pa}-able from him to me from the beginning of the world to this 
da}-. Reed by me Isaac Greex. 

Test Jonathan Green. 

Among these other descendants were the following who 
lived in Stoneham: Deacon Joseph Green, whose farm was 
near where the Highlands Station now is. He was a Select- 
man of Stoneham in 1747, '49, '54, '5 and '8. April 16, 1770, he 
sold half of his farm to Thomas Vinton, and April 15, 1777, 
the other half to Ezra Vinton, a brother of Thomas; Captain 
Josiah Green, who was born in 1735, and lived on the county 
road from Stoneham to L}'nn about three-quarters of a mile 
west of the Highlands Station, on Howard Street. He was 
Selectman 1781, '6, '7, 1791 and '92. His first wife, Elizabeth 
Green, died in 1798, having borne him eight children. He 
then, at the age of 64, married Sarah Skinner, a woman twent}'- 
two years of age, and forty-two years younger than himself. 
She also bore him eight children. The Vinton Genealogy sa}'s 
concerning this Captain Green: 

A most remarkable family ' \Miere can a parallel be found? Eight 
children born after the father had passed his sixty-rtfth year! Rebecca, 
the youngest, born in her father's seventy-ninth year ! Some twelve or 
more of his great-grandchildren older than some of his children ! 
Three daughters named Sarah, two living at the same time! On the 
27'h of April, 1S06, Josiah Green had a daughter Susanna, a grand- 
daughter Paulina Bucknam, and a great grandchild, all born on the 
same day ! The same accoucheur. Dr. Hart of South Reading, and 
the same women attended in all three cases ! ! ! This is reported on 
good authority. 

Many descendants of Thomas Green settled in Maiden 



96 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

proper, and attained prominence in civic, town and military 
affairs. In the will of one of them, Deacon Daniel Green, 
grandson of Thomas, born in i68i, he bequeathed to his wife 
Mary, his " negro woman and children." Another grandson, 
Jacob, born in 1689, kept a diary, or "book of memorabilia: 
Jacob Green, his Writing Book," which is still preserv-ed. It 
is a small leather-bound volume, 3^17 by 6 inches, containing 
about 140 pages. It is mostly in the handwriting of Jacob, but 
partly in that of his son. Rev. Jacob Green. 

A great-grandson of Thomas was William Green, born in 
1683. He was a carpenter. As a curiosity a copy of the con- 
tract for building a school-house is here gi\'en: 

Artecles of agrement made an Concluded between ye Select men 
of Maldon and William Green of y^ sd town carpender Referring 
two y^ bulding of a school house for y^ sd Town of Maldon \^ demen- 
tions and conditions are as foloeth : 

Viz : That y^ sd William Green doath Covenant and agree with 
ye sd Select men to Buld ahous to keep school in for ye town of Mal- 
don ye dementions are as foloeth ; viz ; Twenty foots in Lenght and 
sixteen foots in bredth six foots between joynts and Buld a Chimne in 
sd hous nere seven foots between ye gams and Lay a harth in sd 
Chimne and cover sd hous tite with Boords Rough and Sides — and 
Shingel ye Rough of sd hous and two Lay one flower and two make it 
with crooked beams Riseing two foots at ye Lest for Roufe 4 beems, 
and Ribed upon sd beems as may be suflfistient and Brick ye wals to 
ye plaets and make two windores one on ye South and ye other on ye 
Est and make ye dower of plain Boords. Sd house being Studed 
about 3 foots asunder and two tind all for sd house so fer as has bin 
mentioned and two set it wher ye towne shall agree and to under pin 
sd house. And ye above sd select men dou promis and agree in 
behaef of ye Town of maldon to pay or case to be paid unto ye above 
sd William Green 19 pounds for ye above said woork and where with 
all to do ye same as foloeth ; 5 pounds and twelve shillings in Boords 
and ye Remainder in money as ye woork shall go forward. And sd 
woork to be don forthwith, by ye 20 of Aprill next ye woork is to be 
competed, as ye seson will alowe all such Artikels and agreements to 
be performed by booth partys in Wittness whare of thay have here 
unto set thare hands this 27 clay of October 171 2 and in ye elevent 
yere of her Majest's Reign Queen Anne. 

William Green, 
Henry Green, ") 

Thos. Newhall, ! o 1 ^ 

- Selectmen. 
Samll Sprague, I 

John Green J 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



97 



As has been seen, this original Green farm was situated first 
in Charlestovvn, then in Maiden, then set off to Stoneham, and 
then, in 1853, it was set off to Melrose; and it was in the pos- 
session of the Greens for over two centuries. 

The late Elbridge Green, who built the house now standing 
at No. 467 Main Street, was the son of Reuben, a descendant 
of the sixth generation from the original Thomas Green. He 
was born in i8li,and died Feb. 21, 1898, aged eighty-seven 
years. He held several town offices. He was the first Town 
Clerk after Melrose was incorporated. He served as Modera- 
tor at one Town Meeting, as Assessor for three years, and 
was on the School Committee two or three years. He was an 
upright and exemplary citizen; "a gentleman of the old 
school." 

There are still Green descendants living at the Highlands; 
among them Levi W. Green, of the seventh generation, now- 
living on Franklin Street, whose father, Peter Green, lived on 
" Green Lane," now Orris Street; some of this land is still 
owned by the Greens. Another is Mrs. Emily G. Cochrane, 

daughter of the late Aaron 
Green, and mother of Mau- 
rice G. Cochrane, formerK- 
one of our Park Commission- 
ers. 

Captain Jonathan Green, of 
" Green Lane," now Orris 
Street, was of the fourth gen- 
eration from Thomas. He 
was a leading man in Stone- 
ham for many years; cap- 
tain of a military company-; 
Selectma'n twenty years; 
Town Clerk and Treasurer 
twenty -five years; member 
of the Convention assem- 
bled in Boston, in 1788, to 
ratify the Constitution of 
the United States. His farm 
contained 215 acres. His 
house, still standing, and occupied b\- a descendant, is near 

*- This unique corner closet contains many of the old china and "other 
faniilv heir-looms." 




JR AND CORNER BII'FKT. 



98 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



the line between Melrose and Stoneham. It was built early 
in the i8th century, and has been occupied 1d_\' five genera- 
tions of Jonathan Greens. Tradition says that the builder 
utilized one end of his house for a while as a barn. 

Captain Green kept a diar\' of the most important events 
that occurred during the years from 1738 to 1745, wherein he 
recorded the various house and barn raisings, the going to 
Lynn for shad, the fact that he " Went to Nahant for a frolick," 
and that " My Sheepskin Breeches made up;" also " My Green 
fustian Cote & Gold trimed Jacket made up." Some of the 
more important events are thus recorded: 

1738 Jul}' I Bought our Negro. 

1 740 July 9 Proclamation for volunteers posted and Bees honey 

melted down in y^ hi\-e. 
Sept I Mr. Whittield precht at Boston. 

1 741 June 15 Chose our Son Representative [Samuel Green.] 
Sept. 20 A Cattemont seen at Maiden. 

1743 June 22 Unyousal worms seen at Cha^- which devoured grass 

and Indian & English Corn. 

Jul}' 3 They were seen in Jabez Green's tield. 

Aug 5 A fast Kept at Maiden on ye account of y^ worms. 

Aug 27 Thanksgi\ing day at Maiden on y^ account of ye de- 
parture of ye worms yt eat ye grass. 

Nov. 22 Remarkable high tides So high that it carried away 
>2 ye Stacks on ye Marsh Some it carried over ye 
Causey at Charlestown neck of land. 
" 31 A Bear Killed in Ephraim Browns Swamp in Stoneham 
by about 16 Men. 

1744 April 7 James Hay bought his Molatto Negro aged 8 yrs. 
June 3 Sabbath 1 )ay ye Earthquakes heard 3 times ye first 

time a very hard Shake so y> ye Stone wall fel 

Down in many places. 

June 28 Fast in this pro\ince on ye account of ye french war. 

[This was the French and Indian War of 1744-47. Capt. Green 

afterwards speaks of " lirst training to List A'olunteers to go. none 

listed."] 

Pre\ious to the time of setting off the tc-n families li\-ing on 
the territory- now Cireenwood to Reading, in 1727, some (^f 
those living on territory' farther south, now Melrose, were 
dissatisfied with their Church privileges; and Ma}' 15, 1722, 
it is recorded: 

John Green Att y farms [the original homestead at the Highlands] 
Sam.' (rreen Jonathan barritt [between Cpham and I'orter Streets] 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 99 

And seueral othars 5-' petision"^ with Them : doe desier : Abatement 
on Ther ministars Reates : bj- Reson as the)- sa}- They doe Hue more 
conuenant To Go [to] Reding- meting Then To maiden meting : 

It was putt To vote To see whethar y^ Town will abate Those peti- 
tionars The one half of There ministars Reates. 

And it past in y^ negitiue : 

And just before the division was made this action was 
taken: 

it was put to vote whether the Town will have two meating houses 
in this Town and y^ vote was past in ye negetive. it was put to vote 
whether y^ Town will Alow y^ people in ye north Eand of this Town 
some monej' to help them to provid themselve with preaching in y« 
winter sesons and it past in ye negetive 

But a little later, May 22, it was voted: 

that ye tenn famelys y^ ha\'e petioned to be Laid off from this Town, 
unto ye Town of Reding, have Liberty to goe to Reding with there 
Estates Acording to their petion. 

This left the Greens of the woods, Barretts, Uphams and others 
still unaccommodated and with rates unabated; and yet many 
years were they necessitated to go to Maiden centre for town 
and church privileges. 

The Barretts. All the Maiden and Melrose Barretts 
descended from James Barrett, who was born in England in 
i6i5,came to New England in 1635, and settled in Charles- 
town. His name does not appear among those who were 
admitted freemen; but the Charlestown Records of 1643, state 
that "James Barrett was admitted Townsman ' with manifesta- 
tion y' he is not to expect an}- allotm' of land.' " By industry 
and enterprise he accumulated considerable property; and 
there are upon record many conveyances of real estate to 
and from him. In a deed to Peter Tufts in 1653 he is called 
*' Plantor." His farm was in Mystic Side, in that portion of it 
now the city of Exerett, not far from where the Flastern Rail- 
road crosses the main street from Maiden to Boston. In 1656, 
he was chosen Highway Surveyor in Charlestown, for Mystic 
Side. There were some curious law-suits in those early da^vs. 
James Barrett became involved in two, and the following 
account of the same is found in the County Court Records, 
\ol. I, pp. 149, 241. Thc>' show the somewhat peculiar and 
effecti\e manner in which justice was administered in those 



ot 



100 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

early days, and the method of paying fines, as ordered by the 
Court, in the products as well as the currency of the country. 
In 1657 

James Barrett, on Lord's day turned off his field some cattle belong- 
ing to George Knower, into the lane or road. He was met by Knower, 
as he was letting down the bars, who struck him a severe blow with a 
stake. Barrett, in self defence, drew blood on Knower's face. It 
being not only a violation of the law, but a breach of the Sabbath, it 
therefore became a matter of legal animadversion. 

The verdict was as follows: 

George Knower being convicted of Breach of the Sabbath and also 
of the peace of the Comon Wealth by striking James Barrett on the 
Lord's day is fined by this Court thirty shillings and to pay cost of 
Court. James Barrett for like offence by him committed in Striving 
with and fetching blood on Knower is fined twenty shillings and to 
pay costs of Court. These fines to be P^' in corne Porccouable in all 
mann"" graine as the country rate at y^ same prises. 

The other was a case of slander, brought by James Barrett 
and William Luddington, against Mar>- Tufts of Maiden, in 
1660. 

It appears by the evidence, that Peter Tufts of Maiden, had beaten 
and abused his man Henry Swillaway, who went to Barrett and Lud- 
dington and told his tale and cried. They being kind hearted men 
sympathised with him. This case was brought into Court they appear- 
ing as evidence in his behalf. That led Mary Tufts, wife of Peter, in 
her indignation to utter the following words — Viz. — "That none 
Spake against husband at the court but the Skines of the Country, 
and liars, and them that did not care what they said." P'or the utter- 
ance of these words a suit of Slander was instituted. 

In the Middlesex Court Records, vol. i, p. 200, is recorded this 
severe and mortifying sentence: 

The Jury brought in their verdict, finding for the Plaintif damages 
ten shillings apeece, & an acknowledgemt to be made by the deff' at 
Mauldon vpon the Lords day in the after noone, within the space of 
thirty dayes next ensueing, and to be made after the publicke exccise 
is ended, before the congregation depart in mannr following, viz', in 
these words. That whereas J Mary Tufts am legally convicted of 
slandering & wronging James Barrat & William Luddington, or any 
other whom my words might reflect vpon, by speaking Rashly, irregu- 
larly, & sinfully, J am heartily sorry, ^r doe desire to be humbled for 
the same, & in case of non observance to doe as above is prmised 
either to pay ye said ten shill. apeece, or makeing such acknowl- 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 101 

edgem* both for mann' & time: the Jury do find that ye deft' shall 
pay vnto ye pts fifty shill apeece, & costs of Court, thirty one shill. & 
two pence. 

James Barrett died in 1672. His son James, born in 1644. 
settled at the north end of Boston, near Copp's Hill, and his 
son James, born in 1672, came into possession of his grand- 
father's farm at M\'stic Side. He became a prominent man 
in Maiden, serving as Selectman for several years, and acting 
on many important committees. Among his possessions was 
a saw-mill at Spot Pond. The Bi-Ccntennial Book of Maiden, 
has the following items connected with this James Barrett: 

In 1 70S, April 2, Deacon Greenland has liberty to build a pew. 
It was voted at that time, '" That if janies Baret will make up the 
twenty aight shillings, which the town is in detted to him for worke at 
the meting house, forty shillings, then he shall have as conveneant seat 
in the meting hous as his naberas have." Among other necessary 
appendages of an old-fashioned meeting-house in New England were 
the horse-blocks and stables. The first notice we find of these in 
Maiden, is under date of Dec. 9, 1698; it was voted "that Trj-all 
Nubry, Simon Grovar, Samuell Bucknam, william pain, james Barrit, 
and John Greenland, hath the priveleg of a peece of land of 24 foots 
long and 9 foots wide, from ye South west corner of ye parsonage 
garding westwardly along by }e stone wall. Granted them by a town 
vote, for to set a stable to shelter their horses on the Sabath days.'' 

Deacon Jonathan Barrett, a brother of James, born in 1678, 
was also a Selectman of Maiden for many years, ser\-ed on 
numerous committees, and was many times Moderator of 
the Town Meetings. These two brothers took opposite sides 
in the long and bitter contest in Maiden, which grew out of 
the location for the new meeting-house, which was final!}- 
settled by building it on the spot where now stands the 
Universalist Church of Maiden. Deacon Barrett came to 
North Maiden about the year 1700, and his farm and home- 
stead was situated on the " East Side;" the house being about 
half-way between Upham and Porter Streets. Its site, with the 
stone filled cellar-hole, still exists. It is on the highest rise, a 
little way to the west of School Street; and the newly laid out 
Lincoln Street, running from Porter to Upham, now only par- 
tiall}- built from Porter, when extended through to Upham 
Street, will pass directl>' through it; thus obliterating all traces 
of the original Barrett homestead. In 17 14, Mr. Barrett was 
one of the petitioners for the laying out of Upham Street. 



102 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Porter Street was then called Barrett Lane. He was one of 
the Selectmen of Maiden for the years 1725, '26, '31, '36, '37, 
'38, '39, '40, and '44. He died in 1 749, aged seventy-two years- 
He made an interesting will, ^,^ ^^ /2 
a portion of which follows: hC tOlC/tjaM. ^J^^^^^'^^"^^ 

In the name of God Amen, the twenty six day of August one 
thousand seven hundred and forty nine I Jonathan Barrett of Maiden 
County of Middlesex in the Province of Mass's Bay in New England 
yeoman being very sick and weak in Body But of perfect mind and 
memory thanks be given to God for it therefore calling to mind the 
mortality of my Body and Knowing that it is appointed for all men 
once to die, Do make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament, 
that is to say Principally and first of all I give and Recomend my Soul 
into the hands of God that gave it and my Body I Recomend to the 
Earth to be buried in a decent Christian Burial at the Discretion of mj' 
Execuf nothing doubting but at the General Resureition I shall 
receive the same again hy the mighty Power of God and as Touching 
such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to Bless me in this 
Life I give Demise and dispose of the same in the following manner 
and form. 

Item. I give and Bequeath unto Rebecca my Dearly beloved wife 
the improvement of w\y East Lower Room of my Dwelling house and 
Chamber over the same and one third part of the cellar during her 
natural Life, with free Liberty of coming at the same as occasion shal 
call for : I do gi\'e her the impro\-ement of one third part of my house- 
hold goods within doors : and the Improvement of two of my best 
Cows to be kept for her Winters and Summers yearly and every year 
by my Executers during her natural Life I also give her two bushels 
of Malt two barrels cyder three bushels of Rye nine bushels Indian 
Corn ground and brought into her house the cyder and grain to be 
provided 3'early and every }'ear seasonably during her natural Life by 
my Executors I also give to her six cords of good wood to be cut and 
split and brought Seasonably to her door tit for her fire I also give 
her five bushels of Apples two bushels Turnips half bushel carrots and 
half bushel of white beans fourscore pounds Pork and seventy pounds 
Beef four pounds hackled fiax and four pounds Sheeps Wool all to be 
provided yearly and every 3-ear by my Executors during her natural 
Life Also Ten pounds Money per year during her Life Likewise 
that she shall be carried to meeting when she is able and desirous to 
attend the same*'^ all abo\'e mentioned to be performed eaqualy be- 

*'^ lu several of the wills of the for her i^his wife) to ride ou to 

inenibers of these old families, the meeting as she may have occasion 

following phrase or its equivalent, while she remains a widow." 
often occurs: "also a horse suitable 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 103 

tween my two Executors. The ten pounds money above mentioned is 
to be understood in the old Tenor. . . . Item I give and bequeath 
unto my beloved son Joseph Barrett whom I Likewise constitute make 
and ordain my Executor of this my last will and Testament two thirds 
of my Mansion House that is the Remaininsj- part of it that I have not 
given to my \\\it together with the Remainder of my Buildings. I 
also give him all the Remainder of my lands that I have not given to 
my son James abo\-e mentioned b}- him to be freely possesed and en- 
joyed and to be at his disposal forever. ... As for my Negro Isrial 
my Will is that he shall serve my son Joseph Barrett faithfully Six 
}-ears and after that term of time is expired he shall be free and that 
my Son Joseph shall give Bond that he be not a Town charge.-*-^ 

As is seen by this will, Jonathan's son Joseph came into 
possession of the old homestead and its farm. At this time 
slavery existed in Massachusetts, and Joseph Barrett became 
the possessor of two slaves; one by inheritance by his father's 
will, and the other through the action of the town of Maiden, 
as is seen by the following; from the Maldoi Records: 

Maiden Feb'; the yt'i 1755, be it known that ^^'hereas the selectmen 
of said town have put a mulatto child that has been latly laid at the 
dore of ann welcome to me Joseph Barrett of said town giving me 
fifty two pounds ten shillings old tenor with said child I the said 
Joseph Barrett do promis for me and my heirs to indemnify and clear 
the said town from any charge that may arise upon the account of said 
child so long as it maybe made a slave to me my heirs or to them that 
I or my heirs shall assign said child too. 

in witness whereof I have hereunto put \\\\ hand 

Joseph Barrett. 

In connection with this transaction the town passed this 
vote two }'ears later: 

1757. :May i6th \'oted. That the town doe alow to An \^'ellcom ten 
pounds old tenor to be laid out in repairing her Shatterd habitation 
and that on the account of her nursing a child eight weeks that was 
laid at the dore of her house, i 737, June 6, Voted, that the selectmen 
shall take care that said money be laid out for that puipose. 

This Ann Welcome was a nei^ress, whose little cabin thus 
repaired, stood under the side of the hill on the northerly side 
of Salem Street, Maiden, near the line between Maiden and 
Revere, at the point known as " Black Ann's Corner." 

The slave Israel, which he inherited, was to serve him six 

*' Probate Records, Cambridge, Book 26, p. 3. 



104 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

years. Wishing to learn a trade he was bound out to Joseph's 
brother, Jacob, by the following instrument: 

This Indenture witnesseth that whereas Deacon Jona. Barrit, late 
of Maiden, deceased ordered in his last will and Testament yt his 
Negroman Survent Isrial should serve his son, Joseph Barrit faithfully 
for ye space of six years after ye decease of ye above sd Testator, of 
which time there being Two years Past the sd Negro being desirous of 
Larning \(t Trade and art of a Cooper which his sd master. Joseph 
Barritt complied with and b}' these Presents Puts and Binds the above 
sd Negroman a Prentice unto Jacob Barritt of the town of Lancaster 
in the County of Worcester and Pro\ince of Massachusetts Bay in 
New England Miller and the sd apprentice to serve him and wife from 
5'e Day of ye Date hereof for and during the full term of fore years 
next during all which time ye sd apprentice his sd master and mistress 
faithfully shall serve, there secrets keep, their lawful commands gladly 
everj'where obey. He shall do no damage to his sd master nor his 
mistress nor see it to be done by others without Letting or giving notice 
thereof to his sd master or mistress Goods or Lend them unlawfulh- to 
any one, he shall not Commit Fornication nor contract matrimony 
within sd term. At Cards or Dice or any other unlawful Game he 
shall not play, whereby his said master or mistress may be damaged, 
with his own Goods nor the goods of others he shall not absent himself 
Day or Night from his masters or mistress services without their Leave 
nor haunt ale-houses taverns or pla}- houses. But in all things behave 
himself as a faithful Apprentice ought to do during said term. And 
the sd master and mistress shall use ye utmost of their Endeavors to 
teach and instruct the said apprentice in the trade and mj'ster}- of a 
Cooper and procure and provide for him sulificient meat drink apparel 
washing and loging fitting for an apprentice during ye sd term and at 
the expiration of 3'e sd Term return ye sd Apprentice as well clothed 
as at present to yt above sd master Joseph or his heirs who shall by 
these presents be obliged to receive the sd apprentice and clear the sd 
Jacob Barrit and his Heirs from all charges yt may arise after his time 
is out with him and for the true performance of every part of the sd 
covenants and agreements, either of ye Parties Bind themselves to the 
other by these presents in witness whereof they have Interchangeably 
put their hands and seals this seventh day of September Anno Domini 
one Thousand seven Hundred and tifty-one and in the Twenty-fifth 
year of his Majesties Reign. 

Joseph Barrett. 

Eren H.vrnden. Jacob Barrett. 

Samuel Spraoue. 

Joseph Barrett died in 1 758. His son Joseph, after becom- 
ing of age, bought the (del homestead, built by his grandfather, 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 105 

Jonathan, of the other heirs. In 1781, he bout^dit an adjoining 
estate of John Gould, which was situated on the north side 
of Porter Street, then Barrett Lane. The old Gould house was 
enlarged and improved by Joseph Barrett, and it beeame his 
homestead in which he passed the rest of his days. This was 
the estate long occupied by the late Charles Porter, and now 
owned by Albert M. Smith. An uncle of this Joseph, 
James Barrett, owned a farm which joined the homestead farm 
of Joseph, on the east and north side of Porter Street. He 
sold to James Nichols, and the house was burned a few years 
ago. It occupied the spot where now stands the fine residence 
of Eugene H. INIoore, known as " The Moorelands." At the 
death of Joseph his landed property consisted of his home- 
stead, with thirty-one acres, the old Jonathan Barrett home- 
stead lot of twenty-one acres, the Pine Hill lot of fourteen 
acres, and a few other small lots. Among his papers was 
found the following, which shows that he furnished a man for 
the Revolution, but probabl}' did not himself enlist. 

Cambridge, Augt. 17. 1781. 
Reel of M''. Joseph Barrett the sum of Twelve Pounds Solid Coine 
in full for all Accompts, Debts Dues and Demands Against M"". 
Joseph Lyonds or M''. Joseph Barretts Class for Procuring a man for 
three years' service in the Army. 

Rec^ by me, Benj. Perkins. 

Joseph brought up a large family of children on this Barrett 
Lane homestead. The oldest son was Captain Jonathan Barrett, 
who was born in 1775, and who made his home in the western 
part of the town, on a farm that came into his possession in 
the following manner: It 1699, John Sprague sold the west 
part of his farm to Deacon John Pratt. It contained eighty 
acres. The house had been built many years and was the one 
his grandfather bought of his brother Richard in 1652. It 
was situated on the south side of what is known as Barrett 
Mount, about twenty rods west of the corner of Vinton and 
Booster Streets. Maple Street passes near the site of this old 
homestead, which was visible until within a few }'ears. After 
the death of John Pratt, in 1742, the property came into the 
possession of Isaac Green, who married Mary, the daughter of 
Pratt. Tradition sa}'s that Green demolished the old Sprague 
house, which had stood a hundred years or more, and used the 
materials in building what came to be kiK^wn as the " Moun- 



106 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

tain House," corner of Vinton and Maple Streets, recently 
removed. The farm and new homestead then became the 
property of Benoni Vinton, who married Mary, the daughter 
of Isaac Green. .She afterwards married Joseph Lynde, and 
when a widow sold this estate to Captain Jonathan Barrett, in 
1806. The homestead was then enlarged, and became one of 
the finest residences in the north part of Maiden. It was 
around and near this house that was situated what used to be 
known, eighty or ninety years ago, as " the village;" and here, 
from different parts of the sparsely settled portion of the 
town, would congregate the people, for games, social chat and 
amusements. The nearest house to " the village," other than 
the two Sprague houses, on Foster Street, was that of John 
Larrabee, the great-grandfather of the present John Larrabee, 
who for twenty-one years was our efficient Town Clerk, after- 
wards one of the Sewer Commissioners, City Treasurer in 
1900, and Ma}-or in 1901-2. The Larrabee farm consisted 
of twent\-six acres, and was bought of the heirs of Benoni 
Vinton, in 1805. It extended to Youle Street on the north, 
and was bounded b}^ Vinton Street on the east. He built 
his homestead on the corner of Vinton and Otis Streets, which 
is still standing, and belongs to the heirs of the late Smith W. 
Nichols. 

In an L adjoining his homestead, Captain Barrett, for many 
years, carried on the shoe manufacturing business; being the 
first and only one at that time in this part of the town, and 
which he continued until his death in 1821. The following- 
extract from a printed 

Scniion Dclh'crcd in Mahlcii, Xorc/ulwr 2j//i, 1821. llic Lord's Day 
After the Interment of Capt. Jonathan Barrett, Who Died Novcnibr 
l8th, ^-Et. 46. By Aaron Green, A. J/. Pastor of the Congregational 
Society in said Town. Alas ! my brethren, Capt. Barrett is no more. 
. . . Yes, my friends, he is gone, and for him, ever}- person of benevo- 
lence and affection, patience and resignation, candor and humanit)-, 
charity and love, will go mourning about the streets, for in him they 
have lost a brother. Gone is the useful citizen, the affectionate hus- 
band, the tender parent, the generous friend. Deaf is the ear, that 
listened with delight to the voice of truth : Cold is the heart that 
throbbed with s}-mpath}- : Closedt he e}e that sparkled with joy ; the 
pulse, that beat so often now beats no more. •' Kest then, ye pre- 
cious relic, within thy hospitable gloom. Rest in gentle slumbers, till 
the last trumpet shall give the welcome signal, and sound aloud 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 107 

throug-h all the silent mansions, with this joyful call Arise, shine, 
for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. " 

Mr. Barrett was commissioned Captain of a Company in the 
First Regiment, First Brigade, Third Division, Massachusetts 
Militia, bj^ Gov. Caleb Strong, March 28th, 1805. 

The shoe manufacturing business established by Capt. Bar- 
rett, was afterwards carried on by the late George Emerson, 
and later by others; and, until within a few years, has been one 
of the few manufacturing businesses that have existed in Mel- 
rose. 

In this old "Mountain House" of Capt. Barrett, was born a 
large family of children; among them, May 25, 1818, the late 
Artemas Barrett, to whom this history is indebted for man}- of 
its genealogical items connected with its old families. He died 
Jan. 12, 1897, being nearly seventy-nine years of age. He was 
a highly respected and honored citizen. He held many town 
ofifices, and was a Representative to the General Court in 1861. 

At the death of Capt. Jonathan Barrett, the estate passed 
into the hands of his widow, Mrs. Fann>' Barrett, who bought 
out the heirs, with the exception of her two minor sons, James 
and Artemas. In 1845, s^"*^ conve>^ed the land in front of her 
house to these two sons, who, in the same >'ear, conveyed the 
farm portion to Jeremiah Martin, for SiO,000, who established, 
and for many years carried on an extensi\e nursery business, 
on a portion of it, the balance being laid out in house lots, 
and dwellings built thereon. These nursery grounds were 
sold, after the death of Mr. Martin, and are now covered 
with many streets and residences. The old mansion house 
remained in possession of Mrs. Barrett until her death, in 
1874. It has since been sold, removed to the corner of Tappan 
and Sanford Streets, and become a tenement house. 

We still have many representatives of the Barrett family 
among our citizens. Hon. William Emerson Barrett, son of 
Augustus, w'ho was son of Peter, brother of Capt. Jonathan 
Barrett, was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature for six 
}'ears, 1888-1892, five of which he was Speaker of the House 
of Representatives; and he was Representative for the Seventh 
District in the 54th and 55th Congresses of the United States. 

The Uphams. The name of Upham is an ancient one. It 
was one of the first to be used as a surname, being found in the 
English Charter Rolls — which were " registers of ro\'al u'rants of 



108 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

lands, honors, dignities, hereditary offices, liberties," etc. — as 
early as 1208. It came from an estate that bore that name, such 
a place being mentioned in the Domesday Book, as belonging to 
the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066); and there are 
places in England today bearing that name, and in one of 
them, situated sixty-five miles from London, was born Edward 
Young, the author of NigJit Thoughts. The name Upham was 
probably formed by uniting the Anglo Saxon words up, high, 
and ham, a home, dwelling or hamlet, meaning thus: "the 
Home on the Hill."^-' 

John Upham, the progenitor of all that bear his name in 
America, was born in Bicton Parish, on the River Otter, in 1597, 
and came to this country in 1635. He first settled in Wey- 
mouth, which town he represented several times in the General 
Court. In 1642, he was appointed one of the Commissioners 
to treat with the Indians in obtaining a title to the We>miouth 
territory. He removed to Maiden in 1648, where he became 
one of its leading citizens. As early as 165 1 he was one of the 
Selectmen, an office he held several years. He was several 
times appointed Commissioner " to settle the lesser legal 
matters of Weymouth and Maiden." He was also deacon of 
the Church for twenty-four years. The following is the in- 
scription on his tombstone, which is near the centre of the old 
Bell Rock Cemetery in Maiden: ^ 

Here lyes y^ Body of John Upham ^O C^TV ^PJ^^I*^ 
aged 84 3"f Died Febo' 25, 1681. ^-^^ ^""^""^ 

His son, Lieut. Phineas Upham, born in 1635, soon after his 
parents' arri\al in America, ■^'^ was an acti\'e officer in King 
Philip's War. The headquarters of our troops in the Con- 
necticut Valley, during this war, at this time, was at Hadley. 
Major Pynchon, not feeling equal to the task of commanding 
longer, resigned. Captain Samuel Appleton was appointed by 
the General Court to take his place, and Lieut. Upham of Mai- 
den was selected to bear through the intervening wilderness 
the necessary dispatches. Following is the order: 

■*■' Mrs. Mary Upham Kelley and peace and thankfulness which fol- 

A\'arren Upham, in Upham and lowed the safe arrival in America, 

Amherst, A\ H., 6. and so have been given to the first 

^® " It has also been suggested that born in the New World." Frank K. 

the scriptural significance of the Upham, The Descendants of John 

name Phinehas 'the peace of God,' Upham of Massachusetts, 47. 
may have indicated the feelings of 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 109 

■5"/- Wee have ordered Lt Uphain to lead up to you 30 men and do 
further order that Lt Scill be dismissed home to his family, and his 
souldjers to make up some of y« companies as yt chief e Commander 
shall order and ye above named Lt Upham to be Lt under Capt 
Wayte, These for Major John Pynchon. 

This was dated Sept. 4, 1675. He arrived at his destination 
on the I2th,and from that time was in active service, conduct- 
ing many scouting parties and expeditions. At the battle of 
the Narraganset Fort, Dec. 19, 1675, ^vhen one thousand Indian 
warriors were slain or wounded, and eighty-six English killed 
and one hundred and fifty wounded, Lieut. Upham was severely 
wounded. Of this sanguinary fight the historian, Hubbard, 
says : 

It is hard to say who acquitted themselves best in that day's service 
either the soldiers for their manlike valour in fighting, or the Com- 
manders for their wisdom and courage ; leading on in the very Face of 
Death. 

After lingering some ten months from the effects of this 
wound, Lieut. Upham died, in October, 1676, at the age of 41 
years. He was highly respected as a citizen, and was eminent 
in the military service. The Upliavi Genealogy says of him: 

In battle Lieutenant Upham exhibited the character of a brave man 
and patriot, purchasing with mortal wounds the palm of victory ; and 
the government was not unmindful of his great sacrifice but bore 
testimony upon the records 
"to the long and good ser- 
vices he did to the country, /If^J^^t:^"^^^ / K:)p^CUK' 
and the great loss sustained 
by his friends in his death." 

In the Archives at the State House are several documents 
signed by Lieut. Upham; and in the records of the fall term 
of the General Court for the same year, 1676, is found the fol- 
lowing entry: 

In answer to the petition of Ruth Upham, widow and relict of the 
late Lieut. Phineas Upham, the Court judgeth it meet to order that 
the bills of charge to chirurgeons, doctors and diet, &c., mentioned in 
the said petition, be payed by the treasurer of the county; and in 
consideration of the long and good services her husband did for the 
country, and the great loss the widow sustains b}- his death, being left 
with seven small children, and not able to carry on their affairs, for the 
support of herself and family, do further order the treasurer of the 
county to pay unto the said widow ten pounds in, or as money. 



/iQ£^-n<?^^? /%no^c 



110 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



One of these "seven small children," Phineas, the eldest 
son, became a prominent citizen of Maiden, For fourteen 
years he was one of the Selectmen; Town Treasurer for several 
years; deacon of the Church; several times Moderator of the 
Town Meeting; and for five years Representative to the Gen- 
eral Court. He died in 

October, 1720, at the age y^""^'^^:^ /^ , P 

of 62 years, and was {^y^oHd'-n:^ -XJOi^yWO 
buried in the cemetery '/ 
at Maiden. 

It was his oldest son, born June 10, 1682, and bearing the 
same name, Phineas, a favorite one with the Uphams, who 
came to Melrose, then North Maiden, and settled on Upham 
Hill, in the year 1703. At the same time it is recorded, that 
"Phineas Upham and Tamzen Hill were joined in marriage, 
y^ 23d of November, 1703, by M'' Wigglesworth; " and from 
them ha\e descended all of the many Melrose Uphams, and 
many others who have gone to other parts of the land, some 
of whom have become eminent as lawyers, ministers, authors, 
and statesmen. 

Very soon after his marriage he built his homestead, and 
established his home " in their primitive dwelling on the 
wooded crest of Upham Hill." 

This was situated on what is now the corner of Upham and 
Highland Streets, where it remained until within a very few 
years, when it was removed a few rods south and now stands 
on Waverly Avenue. Some years ago it was enlarged and 
improved. While it stood on Upham Street, our present Chief 
Engineer of the Fire Department, A. Wilbur Lynde, made his 
home therein for a number of years, tilling his farm thereto 
belonging. 

Here Phineas and Tamzen Upham li\ed, and brought up a 
large family of sex'en sons and six daughters. 

One of his sons, Jabez, became a doctor and settled in Brook- 
field, Massachusetts; and concerning him occurs the following- 
sentence in his father's will. 

And the reason \vh}- I give my son Jabez l^pham no more in this 
my last will, is because I have given him to the value of a hundred 
pounds in bringing him up to the art of a Doctor or Ph3'sician. 

Phineas was one of the Selectmen of Maiden for several 
years; two years Assessor, and many years iModerator of the 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



Ill 



Town Meetings. In the }'eai' 1707-8 he is mentioned as Ensign 
Phineas Upham. He died in 1766, at the age of eighty-three 
years. His wife died two years later, at the same age. 

Of the personal appearance of this Phineas, we have the fol- 
lowing description in Notices of the Life of JoJui Upham, the first 
inJiabitant of Nciv England who bore that uavu\ b>' Dr. Albert G. 
Upham, published in 1845: 

Mr. John Edmonds, of Maiden, an old soldier, now 89 years of age, 
informs me that when a boy he often saw Phineas Upham. He states 
that he was of the medium height, his hair abundant, but of a pure 
white, and his costume that of his times, viz., — breeches, cocked hat, 
etc. He used to walk about the village with the assistance of an ivory- 
headed cane, and he had a favorite seat beneath a wide-spreading 
tree, where he was often seen reposing. 




THK OLD AMOS UPHAM HOUSE. 

The oldest son of Phineas, born Jan. 14, 1708, was also 
named Phineas. He died in Maiden, July 17, 1 738, of the 
malignant throat distemper which prevailed in that year. 
Amos, another son of Phineas, born in 1718, succeeded to a 
portion of his father's acres and the old homestead still stand- 
ing; and, in turn, his son, also named Amos, born in 1741, came 
into possession. This Amos and his brother William, were in 
Capt. Benjamin Blaney's Company, which marched to Water- 
town "upon tne alarm on the 19^'^ of April, 1775, and from 
thence to resist the minesteral troops." 



112 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

It cannot be stated just when this old house was built, but 
evidently soon after the Phineas Upham house of 1703. Con- 
cerning this house, Miss Mary Elizabeth Upham, a direct 
descendant in the ninth generation, wrote the following de- 
scription in 1890, for the Uphavi Genealogy ; The Descendants of 
JoJin Upham of Massachusetts : 

The original house must have been quite small. A family tradition 
has taught us that it little more than covered the present cellar, which 
extends under less than half the building. A huge chimney — with a 
fireplace ten feet long, and as high as the main room of the dwelling — 
rivaled the house itself in size. 

But it was not long before the family outgrew its narrow quarters. 
Then was the first building supplemented by such additions that it 
came to be a large, substantial dwelling, thirty feet in length, and two 
stories high toward the south. On the north the roof sloped nearly to 
the ground. Later still (and yet so long ago that no one now living 
remembers it) the slopnig roof was raised, so that the house is nearly 
two stories high on the north, today. In the old garret the original 
sloping rafters may yet be seen.^" 

The front door of the house is away from the street on the south 
side. Crossing its smooth door-stone we enter a small passage-way 
from which a few stairs, with two-square landings, lead to the upper 
fioor. At the right a low door-way admits us to a large room, eighteen 
feet square, presumably the '• best room "" of the house. Its low wain- 
scot, and high mantel, the broad beams across the ceiling — but a short 
distance above our heads — and the long hearth of the primative fire- 
place — all point to the age of the structure. 

On the left of the front entry is another room, much like the first. 
The center of the house is occupied by the huge chimney, and on the 
north are the smaller rooms. The oak beams are in many cases 

^' From an examiuation of the sloping roof was raised so that the 

huge chimney, directly in the cen- house is nearly two stories high on 

tre of the house, and from the fact the north." Be that as it may, it 

that " in the old garret the original is a most interesting old mansion, 

sloping rafters may yet be seen," and presents the nearest approach 

and that these are in both parts of to the original appearance of any 

the house, and that the large beams of the houses of our original settlers, 

over head are in both rooms to the unles an exception is made in the 

right and left of the chimney, and Howard House at the corner of 

from the position of the front door Lebanon and Porter streets, which, 

directly in the centre, I am led to although not quite as old, does not 

believe that the original house was seem to have had any additions 

the same size as it now appears, whatever since the day it was built, 

and that the enlargement was made. The Howard house was destroyed 

as Miss Upham states, when " the in the latter part of the year 1900. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



113 



eighteen inches thick ; and the walls are filled in with bricks and clay. 
The chimney is made of bricks of many sizes, and clay instead of 
mortar is used. The fire-places have been made smaller within a 
century, but the original hearths — in some of which square tiles are 
placed — are still left. 

The occupants of this house through the various succeeding genera- 
tions have all been tillers of the soil, though several have combined 
with this mechanical trades, as a supplementary occupation. Its pres- 
ent owner and occupant still carries on the farm, though but few of the 
oriofinal acres remain. 




INTERIOR OF THE AMOS UPHAM HOUSE.** 

Amos' son Asa, born April 29, 1785, was the successor in the 
ownership of this old ancestral homestead; and here, under 



■** This is a view of a portion of 
the south-east room, with its large 
oaken beams crossing the ceiling. 
Herein are grouped some of the 
many interesting heir-looms, still 
remaining in this old Upham home- 
stead. Some of these two hundred 
years of age or more. The fire- 
place — formerly much larger than 
now, occupying, with an oven by its 
side, nearly the whole of the side of 
the room — with its crane, hooks, 
andirons, shovel, tongs and bellows; 



the two old chairs, one a Winsor; 
on the mantel-piece, candle-sticks, 
an old " Black Jug " two hundred 
years of age, and a pitcher of the 
"willow-ware" pattern; on the 
table a needle-worked picture, old 
cup and saucer, old school books, a 
wooden quart water-bottle — it is 
surmised that this has had some- 
thing in it stronger than water ! — 
an old English cup, and an Indian 
stone-hatchet, plowed up ou this 
farm. 



114 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

this same roof-tree, he passed a long h'fe, dyiniT in 1S69, at the 
age of eighty-four years. 

He could well remember when Maiden had but one church, where 
all the town could worship God, and when that part now Melrose had 
but one small, rough schoolhouse, with its rough seats and large open 
tireplace and the school kept only two months in the year, the tow-n 
very sparsely settled, with its narrow, rough and crooked pathway-, 
travelled only on foot or horseback. . . . Mr. Upham was blest with a 
competence of this world's goods, but with what was far better, good 
health from the cradle almost to the grave. And what was still better, 
he has during his long life, travelled in the pathway of virtue and 
uprightness, and has gone down in his ripe old age to his final resting- 
place with an unblemished reputation, honored and respected by all 
who knew him. 

And in this homestead a large family of children, of the 
eighth generation, was born; among them the late Eri, Asa, 
Orne and Benjamin R. Upham. Orne, born Sept. 25, 1820, 
succeeded his father as owner of the farm, whereon he spent a 
long, quiet, unostentatious life as a farmer, dying April 2, 1894, 
aged seventy-four years; and here m the old mansion, still 
lives the family of Orne, his wadow, Mary E., being the present 
owner; with her live her two daughters, Esther Norris and 
Mary Elizabeth, they being of the ninth generation — the latter 
of whom wrote the description of the old Amos Upham 
house, quoted in the preceding pages. 

Eri Upham and Asa Upham, brothers, born respectivel\' 
Sept. 7, 1813, and March 31, 1816, lived on Upham Street, near 
the old homestead, where they passed long li\'es; Eri dying 
July 2, 1897, at the age of 84 years, and Asa, Dec. 15, 1899, 
aged 83 years. 

Another brother, Jienjamin R., born April 5, 1823, lived for 
many years in the old Emerson mansion, on the corner of Main 
and Emerson Streets, where his widow, Rachel E., still lives. 
He died Nov. 30, 1892, at the age of seventy years. His son 
Frank Richardson, born Dec. 18, 1852, is at present Chairman 
of the Board of Assessors of Melrose. 

Besides the Uphams already spoken of as ha\ing lived in 
the old homesteads on the original acres of the first Melrose 
Phineas, he had numerous other descendants who lived in other 
homesteads on U})ham Hill. The Rev. Frederick Upham, 
D. D., "The Nestor of the I\F V.. Church," was the son of 
Samuel .Sprague U])liam, ant! was born C)ctol)er 4, 1799, and 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



115 



died March 20, 1891, at the age of ninet)'-t\vo years. He was 
a very active and influential minister, and presiding elder in 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. He began his career as 
preacher at the age of twenty, continuing until within a very few 
years of his death. His brother, Freeman Upham, born 
December 7, 181 1, for many years had his homestead on 
Main Street, and until the day of his death, May 25, 1900, 
was hale and hearty; he walked our streets during his last 
years with the appearance of a much younger man. One of 
his sons, Osgood Wright Upham, born May 2, 1835, ^^'^s a 
resident of Melrose for manv v^ears, but now resides in Keene, 
N. H. 




JESSE UPHAM HOUSE. 

Another branch of the Upham residents on this hill, and 
descendants from the original Phineas, was Jesse, son of 
Timothy, who was born August 29, 1710, and of the fifth 
generation. Jesse was born March 18, 1745, and died August 
23, 1825, at the age of eighty years. Jesse's son, also named 
Jesse, born November 8, 1775, lived in the orignal Phineas 
Upham homestead. He died A})ril 5, i860, aged eight)'-five 
years. 

Jesse's son, Joshua Upham, born Dec. 2y, 1806, built his 
house on Upham Street, near Cjooch Street. This has now 
been moved to P'irst Street. Joshua died Januar\' 16, 1871, at 
the age of sixty-four years. His brother George, born October 



116 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

4, 1810, lived in his grandfather Jesse's house. Here he dwelt, 
cultivating these acres, until February 13, 1872, when he died 
at the age of sixty-two years. His homestead was on the 
corner of Upham Street and Waverly Avenue, and must have 
been built at least one hundred and fifty years ago. It has 
received some additions and changes but is in good condition. 
It is the only old homestead in Melrose which still retains its 
old well, with its old-fashioned well-sweep, still in use, and 
which is the last relic of this primitive mode of drawing water. 
One cannot see it without at once calling to mind the familiar 
refrain: 

The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, 
The moss-covered bucket, which hung in the well. 

May it be a long time before this old well-sweep is displaced! 
It is one of the last North Maiden relics of former days. 
Suffer it to remain as a reminder of former generations of the 
Uphams of Upham Hill! 

Still another Upham farm and homestead was situated on 
Upham Street, that of Nathan Upham, son of Amos, born 
February 28, 1781, and died in 1845, aged 64 years. This 
was on the north side, between Upham and Porter Streets. 
This farm was inherited b\- his two sons, Eli and Albert, two 
bachelors, who tilled, its soil for many years; and finally lost 
possession because they would not set back a small carriage 
or tool house in order to widen Upham Street; being ordered 
so to do, first by the town authorities, and then by the County 
Commissioners. As they were determined not to move it, it 
was done by the State, the necessary tax levied, refusal to pay, 
citation in Court, non-appearance, defalcation decreed, and 
the estate sold to Nathaniel P. Jones, and thus passing out 
of the possession of the Uphams forever. Quite a portion of 
the farm has been sold in house lots, and many of our finest 
residences built thereon; but Mr. Jones still owns many of its 
acres, and he still owns the old homestead, which was built by 
Nathan Upham in 1816. 

The brick house, on what is now known as the "Parker 
Place," was also built by an Upham, Joshua, son of the senior 
Jesse, in 1810. He was a master-mason of Salem. The road 
leading from the present Upham Street, just to the east of this 
residence, built in 1796, was the old way to Saugus and Lynn. 
This Upham house was sold sometime during the war of 181 2, 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 117 

to a Mr. Peale, for $2,000. and the payment was made in whole 
pepper, which, from fear of being raided if taken to Salem, was 
stored in the chamber of Jesse Upham's house, then on Upham 
Street, now on Waverly Avenue. After the war was over, it is 
said by representatives of the Uphams, the pepper was bought 
back by the former owner. Some years later a Mr. Derby 
bought this place, and after owning it several years, sold it to 
the present owners, the Parkers. Cottages for different mem- 
bers of the Parker family have been built near by, and the 
whole cluster of buildings makes one of the pleasantest resi- 
dential spots in Melrose. 

Time was when the old original Amos Upham, and the two 
Jesse Upham houses, views of two of which are given, were the 
only ones existing on what is now Upham Street, once Upham 
Lane, or the old country road to Saugus. 

Just over the brow of the hill, at the extreme end of East 
Foster Street, there exists what may be called an Upham Ceme- 
tery, but what remains visible has more the semblance of a 
tomb; the door has disappeared, and the entrance has been 
walled up. Here were buried the two Jesse Uphams, father 
and son, their wives and many of their children. There was 
also entombed, Thomas Smith, who married a daughter of 
Jesse Upham, and his wife, also a Mr. Towle, who once lived 
on the Parker Place. There were graves outside the tomb, in 
which burials were allowed; among them, a negro named 
Johnson and his wife, and quite a number of others. These 
graves were entirely obliterated, years ago, by plowing and 
cultivating the soil. The tract embraced some ten thousand 
feet, and was originally fenced; but that also has disappeared, 
and nothing but the face of the undoored tomb now remains, 
in an open, unprotected field. 

On the north side of Lynde Street, a few rods east of where 
Summer Street intersects, there once stood a very old house, 
built by John Pratt, who, at his death in 1743, gave it, with 
twelve acres of land to his grandson David Green, who sold it 
to Amos Upham. Mr. Upham was a blacksmith; the only one 
in this part of the town; and his shop was nearby his dwelling. 
These were situated on the original 1653 road. In those days, 
besides shoeing horses and cattle, and repairing carts, a great 
variety of work was done at the blacksmith's shop; here all 
kinds of agricultural implements then used were made; plough- 



118 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



shares, axes, spades, hoes, scythes, etc.; also all kinds of house- 
hold utensils; and a blacksmith's shop was a much frequented 
place. Here public notices were posted. In 1693, when rams 
were not allowed to run at large, the town passed the following 
vote which was duly tacked upon the blacksmith's shop: 

That ye finder of any Rams shall forthwith set up a paper one both 
ye Smith Shops in this town fairly writen ye marke of said Ram. 

This property passed into the hands of William Upham, of 
the fifth generation, in 1777. He was born August 7, 1747, 
and was a soldier in the Revolution; being in the battle 

at Bunker Hill, and at 
White Plains, where he was 
wounded and crippled for 
life. 

On the opposite side of 
the street, on the rising 
ground, stands the little 
one-stor\^ Dolly Upham 
house, built by William 
Upham, in 181 2, for his 
son William. In 1845, this 
property passed out of the 
possession of the Uphams. 
The Howards. The Howards were among the original 
families occupying the territory of Melrose. Peter Tufts, who 
seems to have been a land speculator, owning large tracts of 
land in this region, sold, in 1663, to Samuel Howard, then of 
Charlestown, his farm land, which was situated in what is now 
the centre of Melrose. It is described in the Middlesex Deeds, 
book 3, page 276, as lying at Ell Pond, and is embraced within 
the following bounds: 

Northerly by s^ Ell Pond, easterly by the brook from s^ Ell Pond, 
and southerly by the brook running from Spot Pond, westerly by John 
Sprague's farme. 

This latter line has been described as running northerly from 
Spot Pond brook, through Cottage Street, crossing Foster 
Street and the railroad east of the late Mrs. Liberty Bigelow's 
house, and so on a straight line to the head of Ell Pond. 
Mr. Howard, who came from England in 1635, '" the ship 
" Elizabeth," built a house on the border of Ell Pond, on the 




THE DULLY UPHAM HOUSE. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



119 



east side and near its outlet. He also built a dam across the 
outlet, and erected a sawmill thereon. Samuel Howard died 
about 1681, his estate passing into the possession of his heirs. 
His son Samuel had the homestead of twenty acres, with the 
sawmill, bounded north by Ell Pond and south by a line a few 
rods north of Winthrop and Vine Streets. His son Jonathan 
had the remainder, lying south of this line, and afterwards 
came into possession of this mill, as is evidenced by the fol- 
lowing sale, dated Jan. 8, 1721: 

Jonathan Howard conveys to Samuel Howard, wheelwright, one 
acre of land lying near the dwelling house of said Samuel Howard, 
with the grist or cornmill that stands on the land with the mill dam 
and all the privilege belonging to the mill. 




THE OLD HOWARD HOUSE. 

It would seem that this mill, after a service of fifty years, 
exhausted the timber in its vicinity and was converted into a 
gristmill. 

Mary Howard, wife of Jonathan, came into possession of 
eight acres of land with the buildings thereon, on the east side 
of Ell Pond. The house here referred to is the one which, 
until the latter part of 1900, stood on the corner of Porter and 
Lebanon Streets. This was a very old house. The curb of the 



120 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

old well still stands, but the sweep has disappeared. Benja- 
min Howard sold one -half of it to Joseph Lynde, in 1762, 
mentioning in the deed that he purchased it of his father in 
1740. This estate passed into the hands of Jonathan Howard, 
who sold to Amos Howard in 1786; and he sold to the late 
Nathaniel Howard, so long the principal undertaker of Mel- 
rose. He was born in this house, with a large family of 
brothers and sisters. One of them, Atalanta Howard, married 
Isaac Emerson, who built his homestead, wherein he passed a 
long life, where now stands the handsome parsonage of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, on Main Street. Another, James, 
built the house on the corner of Pleasant and Summer Streets, 
Maiden, now occupied by his grandson, George Howard Fall, 
and who, many years after leaving his home on the borders of 
Ell Pond, wrote a poem in its memory: "But Now, No More, 
No More," two stanza? of which, furnished by Mr. Fall, are as 
follows: 

The twilight kissed that little lake, 
The waves dipped on the shore; 

We said such days shall come agaiu, 
But now, no more, no more. 

The sun it dazzles on the lake. 

As in the days of yore; 
There the old cottage, still it stands, 

Where we shall meet no more. 

The east half of this old Howard House, and the adjoining 
land was sold to the Melrose Hospital Association before 
its demolition; the other half of the estate, still belongs to 
Cynthia Howard Hawkes, a daughter of Nathaniel Howard, 
who now lives in Saugus. 

Nathaniel Howard, son of Jonathan, built a house at an early 
period in the rear of the present Eastman's Block, on Main 
Street, about fifteen rods east of said street, near the Ell Pond 
brook. By his will, dated in 1763, he gives his real estate and 
buildings to his sons Amos and Ezra. This estate consisted 
of about forty acres of land, lying on both sides of Main 
Street, which was hot then in existence, embracing the old 
village cemetery lot on the north, on which now stands our 
High School Building, bounded east on t^ll Pond Brook, south 
to a line within about ten rods of Foster Street, including the 
Baptist Church and Sewall School House lots, west on line 
just in the rear of the Main Street stores, crossing Essex 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



121 



Street on the line of the Cit\' Hall lot, crossing Dix's Pond and 
Winthrop Street to a line parallel with the north line of the 
cemetery lot. Ezra Howard became sole owner of this estate 
by purchase from his brother Amos. Ezra Howard died and 
the estate, in i8o8, passed into the possession of Ezra Tainter 
and William Dix, who married two of Ezra Howard's daugh- 
ters. Dix's residence was on the corner of Main and Essex 
Streets, where now stands our City Hall. Tainter owned the 
old house, which was in a dilapidated condition, and was 
demolished about the time Main Street was laid out in 1806; 



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PRATT FARM HOMESTEAD. 

and the material was used in the building of the old Tainter 
house, for many years occupied by the late Henry G. Fields, 
and by him sold to Messrs. Burrell & Swett. They sold it 
to Seth E. Benson, who removed it to Faulkner Place, where 
it now stands. Where it formerly stood, the present handsome 
block was erected by Messrs. Burrell & Swett in 1891. It 
contains stores, and, for several years the Post Office was here 
located; its upper stories are occupied by the Melrose Club. 

The Charles Pratt farm, of fortj'-six acres, on Lebanon 
Street, now belonging to the City of Melrose, having been pur- 
chased in 1887, for the purpose of enlarging the Wyoming 



122 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Cemetery, was originally owned by Jonathan Howard, who 
built a house thereon. Reference is made to this by the 
Selectmen of Maiden, when running bounds in 1690, as fol- 
lows : 

Beginning at the ferder post of Joseph Lynde orchard so along to 
Jonathan Howards land next to the common land. 

When bought by John Pratt, father of Charles, in 1778, ac- 
cording to a memorandum found among Mr. Barrett's papers, 
the house 

was two story with a leaky kitchen on the back of the west end and 
occupied by 2 old Maids Ruth & Sarah Wait. The old Maids were 
to have the East End of the house during their life time. . . After the 
death of the old maids John Pratt tore down the old house and built 
the house where Charles Pratt now lives, in 1S06. 

Charles Pratt lived in the old homestead a year and a half 
after selling his farm to the town of Melrose, for $10,000, that 
consideration being a part of the price. He died Sept. 2, 1888, 
at the age of eighty-six years. At a town meeting held March 
14, 1898, it was voted to utilize the mansion house and twelve 
acres of this property as a poor farm, until such time as the 
territory shall be needed for cemetery purposes. 

Where now stands the Masonic Building, on the corner of 
Main Street and Wyoming Avenue, once stood another home- 
stead of the Howards, that of Joseph, the second son of 
Jonathan Howard, who died in 1769. This descended to his 
heirs, and afterward passed into the possession of Joseph 
Boardman; and when the Masonic Building was erected, the 
old house was removed to Dell Avenue, and occupied as a 
dwelling until within a few years, when it was demolished. 

The Vintons. John Vinton of Lynn, was the ancestor of 
all the Vintons of America. The first of the Vintons that 
settled on Melrose territory, were the brothers Thomas and 
Benoni, of the fourth generation, about the year 1742. They 
married sisters, Hannah and Mary Green. Thomas bought 
his farm in 17.S8, situated on what is now Vinton and Franklin 
Streets. The old county road from Stoneham to Lynn, ran 
through our territory on or near our present P^ranklin Street; 

a short portion of it being Ci^j^ yv-w f/ ^^"^^^J' — / 

now covered by Day Street. ^J-f^^^^"^^ /y,i>r^'r^ty 

As we have seen in the sketch of the Barrett familv, 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 123 

Thomas' brother Benoni, came into possession of the Moun- 
tain House farm, to the south of Maple Street. This was also 
in 1758. Curious articles of agreement between these brothers 
exist in a quaint old manuscript: It is 

agreed and Entered into by & between Thomas Vinton of Stoneham 
in the Count}' of middlesex & province of the Massachusetts bay in 
New England, Husband=man on the one part and his brother Benoni 
Vinton of maiden in s^ County Husband=man on the other part 
witnesseth that they the said Thomas and Benoni for their own 
Convenace and preventing future Dificulty do Covenant promise iSc: 
agree to &: with each other in the following manner Viz that the said 
Thomas shall & will pay or Deliver to the Said Benoni in his the Said 
Thomases orchards near his house annually apples anought to make 
two barrels of Cyder or else two Barrels of Cyder Ready made and 
delivered by the said Thomas at his house annually to the said Benoni 
that is Equaly as Good as the other Cyder that the said Thomas makes 
provided that the Said Thomas may make four barrels in a year and 
untill the said Benonis young orchard near his house doth bear apples 
anough to make two barrels of Cyder in one 3'ear as Shall be Judged 
by Indiferent men and that the Said benoni Shall & will Give Liberty 
to the Said Thomas within three years from the Date hereof at any 
time to pull up and take away the one half of all the young apple trees 
that are now in the nusseries near the house and barn of the Said 
benoni. 

Also Benoni 

Shall and will be at one half of the Cost of additional finishing the 
house the said Thomas now Dwells in and the whole to be done 
within three years from & next after y^ 28 day of July Ad: 1758. 

This house was on what is now Ashland Street, but has been 
turned round and altered somewhat. It is now owned by the 
estate of the late Charles A. Messenger. 

Benoni Vinton's son, Lieut. John, was a man of note, and 
filled a number of prominent positions in Maiden. He was a 
constable in 1777, and as such served a warrant under the 
following circumstances, as told by Mr. Corey, in his History of 
Maiden, pp. 769-70: 

In the winter of 1776 the General Court passed "an Act to prevent 
Monopoly & Oppression," which was designed to check speculation 
and a spirit of extortion, which, as is usual in times of public distress, 
began to appear. Under this act Ezra Sargeant and Jonathan Sprague 
gave information, on oath, to the Board of War, "that they have good 
Reason to suspect that in the Houses of Mary Emmerson Widow & 



124 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Jacob parker Housewright or Gentleman, both of Maiden aforesaid 
there is considerable number of yards of \\'oolen & Linnen Cloth, 
which Cloth is absolutely necessary for the use of the Army & that the 
said cloth in said Houses the owner refuses to sell or dispose of at 
reasonable price." 

On this information a warrant was issued, upon which the following 
return was made March 19, 1777. 

" Jn obediance to the within Precept I have made Search In the house 
of the widow Mary Emerson & have found in said house forty three 
yards one Qr^ & one 8. of a yard of Checked woolen Cloath & twenty 
live yards one half & 1.8 of a yard of Tow Cloath & after taking the 
same into my care the Agents appointed by the Selectmen of maiden 
agreed with the said mary for the Cloath & purchased it at the State 
price. I Dident proceed to go to mr Parkers house by reason it was 
not Suspected that any of the Goods had been Removed there 

"pr me John Vinton Constable." 

Papers on file in the offiee of the Secretary of State. 

Mrs. Emerson was the widow of the Rev. Joseph Emerson, and 
Jacob Parker was their son-in-law. After the death of Mr. Emerson 
his widow and daughters appear to have kept a small shop for the sale 
of goods in their house near the meeting house. 

Lieut. Vinton was a member of the Committee of Corre- 
spondence for Maiden, for the years 1779 and 1780, serving 
with Lieut. Bernard Green, John Green, William Dexter, Sam- 
uel Sprague, Jonathan Sprague and others. He was also Tax 
Collector for Maiden's assessment by the State. 

Treasurer's Office, Jan' 13 1778 
Received of Mr. John \lnton of Maiden one hundred twenty four 

pounds 6 in part for Taxes committed to him to collect for the Year 

1778. 
^124=6=0 H. Gardner Treasurer.'*-' 

Lieut. Vinton's military ser\-ices are gi\"en in the chapter 
"Military History." 

Benoni Vinton died in 1760, and his brother Thomas in 1763. 
Thomas left three sons, Thomas, Timothy, and Ezra. To 
Timothy he gaxe the above homesteaci. He ne\er married, 
but lived with his mother, until she died in 1804. He lived 
to be ninety-two years of age, and died in 1836, an abject 
miser. Turning his farm productions into money, he would 
hide it in all sorts of out-of-the-way places; burying some of it 
in the ground, a part of which was undoubtedly lost; fi\e 

*® From old papers in possession of George A. Fuller. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 125 

hundred Spanish dollars, old and tarnished, found in his 
house, were divided among his relatives immediately after 
his funeral. 

For Thomas was built, in 1770, the house formerly standing 
near the corner of Tremont and Franklin Streets, since re- 
moved to the corner of Tremont Street and Ellsworth Avenue, 
and now owned by John Singer, Senior. This farm descended 
to his son Thomas, who died in 1841, aged 70, of whom it is 
said he never left his farm for forty years, and never visited 
Boston, although living so near it. He left a very singular 
will, bequeathing his property in a curious manner to the 
Baptist Church of Maiden. In 1846, the Baptist Church 
sold it to VVinthrop Richardson. This was soon after the 
Boston and Maine Railroad was opened. At this time there 



'' ■ ■ r . ^ 



were but four houses in what is now the Highlands, west of 
Main Street — three occupied by Vintons and one by the 
Greens. This old homestead farm was held by Mr. Richard- 
son for farming purposes until 1853, when it was surveyed, 
and laid out in streets and house lots, and people from Boston 
began to make investments and build homes thereon. For 
himself he built a fine mansion, of which the above is a 
view. It stood about where now is situated the residence of 
Charles E. French, on Highland Avenue, the tower standing 
where the Stone Fort, sometimes called "Chipman's Folly," is 
situated, on Chipman Avenue. This tower, from the top of 
which was afforded a most extensive \-iew of the surrounding 
countr\', was destroyed by an incendiary fire one Fourth of July, 



126 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



several years since, and the house has been removed to Ash- 
land Street, and is now the residence belonging to the estate 
of the late Charles A. Messenger. 

The following is a view at the corner of Franklin and Green- 
wood Streets as it existed in 1853, and where now stands the 
residence of the late Frank A. Messenger. The two houses 
are those of the late octogenarian, Deacon Joel Snow, and Mrs. 
Martha A. Adams, widow of the late Rev. John G. Adams, 
D. D. 




What propert)' had not been disposed of by Mr. Richardson, 
before his accidental death on the railroad in 1853, was in- 
herited by his daughter, Mrs. Caroline M. Wood, who now 
lives on Tremont Street; and in 1895, the large tract of land 
north of Highland Avenue, then owned by her, was surveyed 
and laid out in house lots, in an artistic manner b}^ Ernest W. 
Bowditch; and many fine residences have since been built 
thereon. It is destined to become one of the finest residen- 
tial precincts of Melrose. 

In 1777, Ezra Vinton bought the Deacon Joseph Green farm 
and homestead, situated westerlj' from the original Thomas 
Vinton farm, the house being on Vinton Street, near the corner 
of Franklin Street. Our present Vinton Street was then 
merely a cartway which led from Stoneham to Maiden. 
About 1790 this house was burned, and Ezra then built on the 
same spot the house now standing. This is one of those 
large-timbered, strongly-built, huge-chimne}'ed, with o\en 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



127 



attachment, old-fashioned houses of the earl>' settlers of the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; devoid of ornamenta- 
tion, but commodious and comfortable. It is not quite so 
strongly built, in the way of timbers, as those of the earlier 
settlers. It has had some alterations and additions in the 
rear, and the top of the chimney has been made smaller. 

At the death of Ezra in 1S17. the estate was inherited by his 
son Joseph Vinton, who owned it until 1845, ^^'li*-'" it was sold 
to Horatio Nelson Perkins, who lived many years on the 
corner of Vinton and Franklin Streets. He sold the Vinton 
homestead to Israel Richardson of Portland, and the property- 




KZRA VINTON HOMESTEAD. 

is now owned by his heirs; but Miss Sarah A. Che\er, through 
Mr. Richardson's generosity, has a life lease of the house. She 
has gathered many interesting heir-looms therein; among them 
three chairs and writing table that belonged to Rew Cotton 
Mather, D. D. On this table many of his sermons and books 
were written; the chairs will be st'en in the centre of this in- 
terior view of one of the rooms in this comfortable old 
mansion, but the table has been disposed of. 

A grandson of Kzra, Aaron \'inton, born in 1826, lived on 



128 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Howard Street, where he carried on the farming industry for 
many years. He died July i, 1901. 

The southern part of the Ezra Vinton farm, the woodlands, 
was sold by Mr. Perkins, to Dexter Bryant, and is still owned 
by him, with the exception of those portions sold in houselots 
and built upon. On this land, some way south of Orris 
Street, formerly Green Lane, on the high ground, is an old 
cellar-hole where once stood the Wilson house. Six or seven 
large elm trees are now growing within its walls, Mr. Wilson 
was a shoemaker and school-teacher; and carried on both 
branches of his business in that house, and at the same time.°^ 




KZRA VINTON HOUSE— INTERIOR. 

A natural curiosity existed on the southern part of this 
Vinton farm, and now belongs to the estate of Mrs. Benjamin 
F. Dyer, No. 44 Orris Street. It is an immense "Cleft Boul- 
der," or natural gateway to the woods beyond, a view of which 
is here given. The space between its walls is wide enough for 
a carriage drive, and it has a large oak tree growing therein. 

■''^ This Wilson place formed the of 1S53, when a part of Stouehani 
corner from which the boundary was set off to Melrose, 
line was run northerly, in the act 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



1:>9 




It is an interesting specimen and relic of the glacial age. It 
has been called by some "Chapel Rock" — why I know not. 

As we have seen in the history of the Green famil)', for 
more than a century they owned nearly all the territory now 
comprised in the Melrose Highlands, and a large part of 
Greenwood. After the advent of the Vintons, and their mar- 
riage into the Green fami- 
lies, this Highlands territory, 
to a very large extent, be- 
came the property of the 
Vintons. These three broth- 
ers, Thomas, Timothy and 
Ezra Vinton, lived side by 
side, on the then existing 
county road, (discontinued 
when Franklin Street was 
built,) and joined Captain 
Sprague's company of " Min- 
THE CLEFT BOULDER. ute Men," marching from 

Stoneham to Lexington, April 19th, 1775.^^ 

These families, the history of which has been given more or 
less in detail, are the ones that owned nearly every acre of the 
occupied territory now Melrose, during the early years, and 
many of the members of which were prominent in town 
affairs; and each and every one of which has descendants 
among its citizens today. Their characteristics, as well as 
those of all New Englanders in general of that period, are 
concisely described by Corey, in his History of Maiden, pp. 
296-300. 

Whatever the superticial observer may pretend to see in the past 
which is now two centuries agone, there was very little of romance in 
the lives of the foredwellers of New England. The land which, when 
weary leagues away beyond the sea, seemed to How with milk and 
honey and to stand forth a later Canaan amid the virgin forests of the 
new world, became to their nearer vision a reality of bleak and rocky 
shores, a stubborn land of dark woods and rocky soil wherein Israel 
might rest ; but where existence was to be had at the price of priva- 
tions not unmixed with suffering, and where a livelihood was only to 
be gained bv the literal sweat of the brow. 



*^ Capt. Sprague lived in Stoneham, on the borders of Spot Pond. 
Bucknam, letter July 10, 1899. 



18(1 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Out of such surroundings and from such conditions arose a genera- 
tion not unlike the countrj- which had given them birth and in which 
their early youth had been passed. . . . Much though there may have 
been of spiritual grace in these men and women of the seventeenth 
centur}', there was little of that outward grace which tempers the 
manners of men and beautifies, if it does not elevate, the lives which 
fall within the circle of its influence. Out of the hard and simple lives 
which they led perforce came a race of hard and simple men and 
women, who were almost without a sense of the beautiful, thinking- 
little of those arts which had borne a rich fruitage in the land of their 
fathers, and who were as careless of the beautiful in nature as in art. 
Hardly within the pale of civilization could a people be found, even in 
the se\-enteenth centur}-, so destitute of the aesthetic sense. In music, 
their knowledge was bounded by the few tunes which they painfully 
sung in a high and unnatural key in the drearj- meeting houses, which 
matched the tunes they sung. Of painting and sculpture the}' knew 
comparatively nothing; and poetr}- of a range above the Bay Psalms 
or the Day of Doom, and philosophy, except it came within the narrow 
limits of a prescribed theology, were forbidden fruits. . . . 

Yet there was much of promise in the strait and formal habits of 
life and thought of the fathers of New England. Underlying all was 
a sound and uncompromising enmity to injustice and wrong, and an 
unflinching devotion to the right, as they understood it ; and more than 
all. there was a sturd)' assertion of the independence of the indi\'idual 
and, through, him, of the masses. There was an ever-present de- 
mocracy, latent sometimes and sometimes militant, but always ready 
to spring into life and action. They were not alwaj's law-abiding; but 
it was a wicked or an unjust law which they resisted ; and their resist- 
ance was usually fortified b}' good and sufiicient legal principals. . . . 

Out of these qualities came all that has endured of the old Puritanic 
fabric which the fathers reared ; and. while mistakes and weaknesses 
of the past have disappeared one by one, these enduring qualities 
have remained with us as a i^eople and are the corner-stones of a great 
nation. 

Of similar characteristics were the settlers and early inhabitants of 
Maiden ; and while the}' may not have reached the higher limits of 
those qualities, they, happily, did not descend to the lower depths 
of ignorance and crime. They were the common people of a common 
New England settlement of the lesser kind — farmers, woodsmen, and 
craftsmen, who cleared their lands and built Iheir humble homes, 
jealously guarding their privileges as well against ecclesiastical as 

against civil encroachments There were fields to clear, houses, 

roads, and mills to build, and abo\e all. in God's Providence, the 
foundation of a nation to lay deep, though they in their weakness 
knew it not, happil}- building better than the}' knew. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 131 

These were the conditions of the people of Maiden during the 
period which intervened between their settlement and the war of the 
Indian Philip. Their work was that of subduing the forests and wild 
lands, and bringing them into forms fit for the uses of civilization. 
Then were laid out farms, whose boundary lines may still be traced, 
and roads, which from mere winding paths have become our principal 
streets. 

Besides these families already spoken of, there were others, 
some of whose names have been mentioned, who became resi- 
dents of this territory at quite an early date; among them. 
Herring, Breeden, Wilkinson, Grover, and Bunnell; but most 
of them have disappeared, and no longer have representatives 
among our citizens. Nearly all of these lived in the south- 
easterly part of the Town, in the Long Pond district. At a 
later date, some before, some after, and some about the time 
of the Revolutionary War, came the Pratts, the Emersons, 
Edmunds, Larrabees, Boardmans, Hemenways, Tainters, 
Fullers, Coxes, Waites, Goulds, Eatons and a few others; and 
the descendants of most of these families are still citizens of 
Melrose. Of some of them much might be said concerning 
their identification with the interests of the Town, while it was 
a part of Maiden, and since its incorporation. Some served in 
the early wars; some in the Revolution; some held civic ofifice; 
some were manufacturers; and some were peaceful farmers. 
Thomas Bunnell served in King Philip's War, being in garri- 
son at Groton. He lived on the old road to Reading. The 
cellar of his house remained in the land now occupied by the 
Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose, until filled by Charles Pratt 
many years ago.^- He was sexton of the Maiden church for 
twenty-eight years, his first year being 1690. March 169^3, 
after the church bell had been transferred from its frame on 
the rock, where it had previously hung, thus giving the name 
to the near-by Bell Rock Cemetery, the following vote was 
passed: 

Thomas dunnell Is chose to Ring ye bell and sweep and look after 
y^ meting hous for this year: and the Town cloth agree to give him 
Thirty five shillings by a Reate : ye said dunnell Is also to dig the 
graues. 

He was re-elected. March 7, ij-y/^o. and appears no more. I sus- 
pect that he performed his duties until the next winter, and that Sandy 

°'- Corey, History oj Ulaldcn, 355. 



132 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Bank took to itself all that it could claim of the bellman and grave- 
digger.53 

One of the earliest settlers in Maiden was Capt. John Wayte 
(Waite) who married Mary, daughter of Joseph Hills. From 
him have descended the many citizens bearing that honored 
name. One of them, Ezra, lived on territory now Melrose, in 
what is known as the Ezra Waite House. 




EZRA WAITE HOUSE. 

This interesting old domicile, now owned by George H. 
Ireson, who has lived therein some sixty years, is situated on 
Swain's Pond Avenue, in the southeastern part of Melrose. 
No one knows just when it was built, but it is undoubtedly 
two centuries old. It has brick-lined walls, and the usual 
wooden cross-beams in the ceiling, found in all the oldest 
houses. On the opposite side of the road may be seen the 
remnants of an old milldam; this makes it evident that there 
were once two sawmills on the outlet of Swain's Pond, one of 
which, Grover's, has been before referred to. 

Emerson. William Emerson, although born in Reading, 
and li\-ing some years in Woburn, early came to North Mai- 
den. He married Mary Vinton, a sister of the three brothers, 
Thomas, Timothy and Ezra X'inton, heretofore spoken of. 

^^ Corey, History of Maiden, 355. 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



133 



Mr. Emerson was in the Revolution, enlisting at the early 
age of eighteen; and the relation of his war experiences, 
to his children and grandchildren, afforded much entertain- 
ment.^ His first homestead " stood near the old well with 
a narrow cartway between the house and well," says one of his 
sons, the Rev. Warren Emerson, waiting June 23, 1876: 

The house was afterwards sold to Amos P. Lynde, and converted 
into a barn. In the above house my father kept a Public House for 
a number of years. The family moved into the new house on the 







.1 - 






.''-:^^' 



EMERSOX TAVERN. 



•^^ William Emerson, fthen of 
Reading), was private in Capt. John 
Dix's Co., Col. Mcintosh's regi- 
ment, Gen. Lovel's brigade ; en- 
listed Aug. I, 1778; discharged 
Sept. 12, 1778 ; service i mo. 15 dys., 
travel included, at Rhode Island; 
also, descriptive list of men raised 
to reinforce Continental Army for 
the term of 6 mos., agreeable to 
resolve of June 5, 1780, returned as 
received of Justin Ely, Commis- 
sioner, by Brig. Gen. John Glover, 
at Springfield, July 11, 1780; age, 
20 yrs. ; stature, 5 ft. 7 in. ; com- 
plexion, ruddy; engaged for town 



of Reading; arrived at Sprinfield 
July 10, 1780; marched to camp 
July ri, 1780, under command of 
Ensign Bancroft ; also, list of men 
raised for the 6 mos. service and 
returned by Brig. Gen. Paterson as 
having passed muster in a return 
dated CampTotoway, Oct. 25, 1780; 
also, pay roll of 6 mos. men raised 
b}' the town of Reading for service 
in the Continental •A.rmy during 
1780; marched July 5, 1780; dis- 
charged Dec. 12, 1780; service, 5 
mos., 19 dys. iMassachiisctts Sol- 
diers and Sailors of the Revolittiort- 
ary War, Vol. v, p. 352. 



134 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

corner of Main and Emerson Streets, either the 6th or 7th of November, 
1805, as you may tind marked with chalk on a rafter in the garret in 
the east end of the house unless it has been rubbed out by some one. 
I think marked by myself. 

In this old inn all of Mr. Emerson's children were born, 
excepting William, son of his first wife, who early went to 
Bangor, Maine, and Isaac, the oldest son by his second wife, 
who was born in Woburn. Another sister of these Vintons, 
Martha, married John Pratt, father of the late Charles Pratt, 
whose farm was on our present Lebanon Street, and which now 
forms part of the Wyoming Cemetery. 

Hemenway. Francis Hemenway, whose farm was on the 
easterly side of East Street, corner of Porter, was born in 
Stoneham in 1797, but came to Melrose when he was a year 
old. In 1815, there occurred an Indian mock fight, in which 
Mr. Hemenway took part. Some six hundred Maiden and 
Reading men, arrayed in war-paint and feathers, tomahawks 
and scalping-knives, were pitted against several military com- 
panies from Charlestown and other towns. The battle began 
on Reading Hill, north of Green Street, and ended at Joseph 
Boardman's, whose house stood where Masonic Hall now 
stands. After a hard and desperate struggle the red men 
were defeated. Mr. Hemenway represented an Indian squaw, 
and carried on his back for a papoose, the late Charles Porter, 
then a baby two years old. During Lafayette's visit in 1825, 
Mr. Hemenway joined the military company at Maiden cen- 
tre, marched to Bunker Hill, to take part in the laying of the 
corner-stone of the monument, heard Daniel Webster's great 
oration, and shook hands with our friend and ally, the great 
Frenchman. The old homestead, with its well and well-sweep, 
has disappeared but the house still exists, having been mo\-ed 
to the upper end of Porter Street. 

The Old Boardman House. Although this house does 
not actually stand on Melrose territory, it is so near it, being 
just over the line in Saugus, its age, its history, and the lives 
of some of its former occupants, are so closely connected with 
our city, that it is appropriate to introduce a view of the 
venerable relic, with a short sketch of its history. 

It is known, far and wide, as the Abijah Boardman House, 
and is situated on Howard Street. It is one of the oldest, if 
not the oldest house now standing on New England soil. It 



OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 



135 



was built in 1635-6, by Samuel Bennett, who came to Saugus 
in the first of these years. He came over from England, at his 
own cost, in consequence of which he received a grant of fift\' 
acres of land, locating it on this spot. 

\\\\h the shrewdness which was characteristic among the first 
settlers, he selected for the site a moderate elevation just west of a 
running rivulet which came down from Castle Hill to water his 
" horned cattle." and to meet at the declivity south of the house 
another little stream that kept green and fertile his meadows. 

The house is the best preserved specimen of the projecting 
upper story architecture to be found. It has the old fashioned 
huge chimney, fireplaces, and o\-ens, of the early colonial 
period; large beams cross its ceilings; hand-made, wrought 




ABIJAH liUARDM.^N HOUSE. 

iron nails were used; its cellar stairs are made of hewn logs 
instead of boards; and the walls were bricked between the 
upright timbers from top to bottom, thus making it warm and 
imperx'ious to the storms of winter; and the old house is still 
strong and able to defy the tempests of yet other centuries. 
The projecting upper story, in this case eighteen inches wide, 
so often thought to be so built for a means of defence, simply 
followed familiar architectural designs for dwellings extant in 
the early part of the seventeenth century. The openings, 
through which to shoot, or pour hot water upon the heads of 
attacking Indians, exist only in imagination. 



CHAPTER V. 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

THE First Methodist Episcopal Church. The first or- 
ganized religious society in Melrose (North Maiden) 
was the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the winter of 
1813, a committee consisting of Phineas Sprague, James Green, 
Jesse Upham and Cotton Sprague, requested the Rev. Timothy 
Merritt — then a member of the Massachusetts Legislature 
from Maine — to preach in the little district school-house, 
which was situated on the west side of the old road, now 
Lebanon Street, a short distance south of the present Upham 
Street. He accepted and continued for four Sabbaths, begin- 
ning February 4. A political sermon had been deli\'ered in 
the Orthodox Church, at Maiden Centre, which was opposed 
to the pre\-ailing sentiment existing in North Maiden, and 
consequently caused great dissatisfaction among its residents; 
and the call to Mr. Merritt was the result of an indignation 
meeting held in one of their barns. 

In support of this mox'ement the following petition was 
prepared and circulated previous to the commencement of 
these services: 

i\L\Lr)EN, Jan}- 15''! 1S13. 
The undersigned, impressed with the necessity of attendance upon 
Public \\'orship, experiencing the disadvantages of residing at a 
distance from Meeting and belie\'ing that the interest of Pietj' & 
Morality would be promoted by Meeting in this vicint}' for religious 
Worship do hereby severally agree to pay the Sums set against their 
respective Names for the Supi^ort of a Methodist Preacher to Preach 
Statedly at the Northern District School House. 

Phineas Sprague, Jr., 

Joseph Howard. 

Asa L'pham, 

Jesse Upham. 

Joseph Board man, 

Samuel Sprague, 

Peter Barrett. 



3.00 


Josiah Fuller, 


1.00 


3.00 


Moses Rand, 


1 .00 


2.00 


James Howard, 


1 .00 


1.50 


James Green. Jr.. 


1.00 


3.00 


Samuel Green, Jr., 


2.00 


1. 00 


Jonathan Barrett, 


3.00 


1. 00 


Issac \'inton. 


2.00 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



137 



Benjamin Porter, 
Isaac Emerson, 
Edward Emerson, 
Asa Hart, 
Robert Gary, 
Phineas Sprague, 



2.00 


James L. Green, 


1. 00 


I .00 


Charles Fuller, 


1. 00 


I .00 


Cotton Sprague, 


3.00 


1. 00 


Jonas Green, 


5.00 


1. 00 


Hermon Sturtevant, 


1 .00 


1.50 


Hanson Connor, 


1. 00 



Total, 



$45.00 

A few months later another petition was circulated for the 
same purpose, in order to continue the services: 

Malden, Sept. i6t'i 181 3. 
We the Subscribers do several!}' agree to pay the sums set against 
our Names for the support of Methodist Preaching at the North 
District School House. 

Jesse Upham, 

Phineas Sprague, 

William Emerson, 

Jonathan Barrett, 

Cotton Sprague, 

Phineas Sprague, Jr., 

Jesse Upham, Jr., 

Jonas Green, Jr., 

Isaac Vinton, 

Samuel Green, Jr., 

Asa Upham, 

Isaac Emerson, 

Joseph Boardman, 

James Howard, 

Samuel Sprague, 

Amos Upham, 

Benjamin Porter. 



2.00 


Joseph Richardson. 


1. 00 


1.50 


Moses Rand, 


1. 00 


3.00 


\\'illiam Edmunds, 


1. 00 


3.00 


Charles Fuller, 


.50 


3.00 


Phineas Green, 


2.00 


3.00 


Benjamin L3'nde, Jr., 


1. 00 


3.00 


Jonas Green, 


2.00 


2.00 


Joseph Fuller, 


.50 


2.00 


Jonathan Boardman, 


2.00 


2.00 


Thomas Green, 


2.00 


2.00 


Hanson Connor, 


1. 00 


2.00 


Joseph Lynde, Jr.. 


2.00 


2.00 


Edward Emerson, 


2.00 


I .00 


George Emerson, 


1 .00 


1. 00 


Barse Sturtevant. 


1. 00 


2.00 
2.00 


Joseph Howard, 


2.50 



Total, 



^59.oo 



Mr. Merritt was succeeded by Re\-. Epaphras Kilby, who 
also preached four Sabbaths. He was succeeded b\' Rev. 
Thomas C. Pierce, who remained six months,, at a salary of 
$2 per Sabbath. The next preacher, Rev. Ephraim Wiley, 
remained three \'ears, from 1814 to 1817, the same salary being- 
voted: "half the amount of S2 a Sabbath be paid at the end 
of the first six months, and the remainder at the close of the 
year." A portion of this time he lixed in two rooms of the 
house of Capt. Phineas Sprague, on Main Street, opposite 
Ell Pond, now occupied by Samuel H. Nowell. 



138 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Considering the salary received we are not surprised to learn that 
Mr. Wiley worked through the week at his trade, that of shoe-making, 
often with a book open before him studying to prepare for the next 
Sunday's services. ^ 

During his term of service, in 1815, a revival took place, 
during- which time, he was aided by the famous Father Taylor 
of Boston. 

In consequence of continued interest and success, this same 
year a Church was organized; and in 18 18, while Rev. Orlando 
Hinds was pastor, a meeting-house was built at the junction 
of Main Street, with Green Street, then a portion of the old 
Reading Road. This edifice was thirty feet long by thirty-two 
feet wide. Its cost, land and all, was §1,500. The subscrip- 
tion paper circulated for this object was headed as follows: 

Whereas, it is for the improvement and good of the public, as well 
as for the salvation and comfort of individuals, to support public 
worship and provide religious instruction, and as it is necessary for the 
comfort of those who meet for divine service to have suitable places to 
assemble in, the members and friends of the Methodist Society in 
North Maiden are resolved to build in said town, a house for public 
worship on the following conditions: 

These conditions were that the house was to be a neat, com- 
fortable one, with free seats, and to be in charge of certain 
trustees, according to the discipline of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. Mr. Hinds, who still received the same munifi- 
cent salary of $2 per Sabbath, headed the petition with the 
sum of $20. This was self-denial indeed! Others gave from 
$1 to $40. 

In 1 819, Re\-. Isaac Jennison became the pastor, during 
whose term of three \'ears, a very stirring re\-ival took place; 
services were held morning, noon and night for several weeks 
in succession. 

In 1820, Rev. Ephraim Wiley again preached for a year, 
being sent this time by the Methodist Conference. Next in 
succession came Rev. Messrs. Leonard Frost, E. Steel, John 
Adams, Samuel Norris, Serene Fisk, Thomas F. Norris, and 
Aaron Josselyn. 

About this time, 1827, certain members became dissatisfied 
with the form of government existing in the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church; trials and troubles began; and quite a number 

1 Mrs. Frank J. Hunt in Melrose Journal, Nov. 3, 1S88. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 139 

of the members withdrew and formed the second religious 
society, the Protestant Methodist Church. This was m 1828. 
The end of this movement is o-iven in the history of the First 
Baptist Church. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church, under the successive pas- 
torates, then varying from one to two years in length, of Rev. 
Messrs. Geo. W. Fairbanks, LaRo>' Sunderland, Ezra Sprague, 
R. D. Estabrook, Ebenezer Ireson, J. T. Burrill, S. Osgood 
Wright, Timothy Merritt, James Mudge, Ralph W. Allen, 
David Culver, Henry B. Skinner, C. Hayward and Walter 
Wilkie, continued to occupy their meeting-house until 1842, 
when, under the pastorate of Rev. William Rice, the building 
was enlarged, improved, and rededicated November 30, of that 
year. The first sexton was hired in 1837, at a salary of $10 
per annum. Then followed in succession as pastors, Rev. 
Messrs. Daniel Richards, Henry M. Bridge, Nathaniel Bemis, 
John C. Ingalls, Francis A. Griswold, John M. Merrill, Mark 
Staples, W'illiam H. Hatch, James Shepard, W'illiam C. High 
and John W. Perkins. This enlarged house of worship con- 
tinued to be occupied until 1857, when it was sold to George 
F. Boardman, mo\-ed to near the corner of Main and Essex 
Streets, changed into " Concert Hall," and was destroyed by 
fire, November 30, 1875, with Boardman's Block, just thirty- 
three }-ears from the da\' it was dedicated. 

Mr. Perkins was stationed here in 1854. A new edifice being 
much needed for the growing Church, he succeeded in raising 
money, sufficient to accomplish the object; a building com- 
mittee was appointed, but "the iron law of itinerac\' " removed 
Mr. Perkins, and the work was completed under the pastorate 
of his successor. Rev. Nathan D. George. 

The edifice was completed and dedicated April i, 1857, the 
Rev. E. O. Haven, D. D., preaching the dedication sermon. 
The land on which the church stands was given by Isaac 
Emerson, father of the late Isaac Emerson, Jr., and of George 
Emerson, Richard Watson Emerson and Mrs. John Massey, 
still with us. The clock in the audience room was the gift of 
Rev. Frederick Upham, D. D., a nati\e and former resident of 
our town. 

The first pastor settled in the new Meeting-house was Rev. 
J. Augustus Adams. He was followed in 1859 by Rew H. V. 
Degen, and in i860 by Abraham D. Merrill. Jeremiah L. 



140 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Hanaford was pastor, 1861-62; George Prentice, 1863-64; 
Henry Baker, 1865-67; Frank K. Stratton, 1868-69; M. Emory 
Wright, 1870-72; (length of pastorate now extended to three 
3^ears, if desired,) A. VV. Mills, 1873-74; S. B. Sweetser, 1875- 
76; Isaac H. Packard, 1877-79; William Butler, D. D., 1880-82; 
John D. Pickles, 1883-85; Samuel Jackson, 1886-90; (pastorate 
now five years if desired,) Charles E. Davis, 1891-96; Joel M. 
Leonard, 1897-1900, and Charles H. Stackpole, I90i,and is the 
present pastor. 



^ 



■SB?""*—-- 




METHODIST Kl'ISCUPAL CHURCH AM) PARSONAGE. 

The church edifice was remodelled during the pastorate of 
Rc\'. S. B. Sweetzer, when the church parlor, choir gallery and 
a kitchen were added; and the rc-opcning serxices were held 
November 19, 1876. The present membership of the Church is 
as follows: Full members, 568; members on probation, 40; 
total, 608. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 141 

The fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of Methodism 
into the town, was celebrated in 1862, during the pastorate of 
the late Rev. Jeremiah L. Hanaford, long a resident and 
honored citizen of Melrose; sermon by Elder Aaron Sargent. 
The seventy-fifth anniversary of the formation of the Church 
was observed in 1888, Rev. Samuel Jackson, pastor. Bishop 
Randolph S. Foster, D. D., preached the anniversary sermon. 

The first parsonage of this church, was the long-time resi- 
dence of one of its old members, Isaac Emerson, situated on 
Main street, on land adjoining the church lot, Mr. Emerson 
died April 18, 1861, aged 72 years. He was one of the first 
contributors to the enterprise in 181 3, and was the first Town 
Treasurer, after Melrose was incorporated in 1850. A new 
and handsome parsonage was built on the site of the old one 
in 1890, which cost $5,700 above the land. 

During the year 1897, '^ was found that the graceful steeple 
had become somewhat decayed and rendered unsafe; there- 
fore it was cut off down to the bell-tower, thus lea\ing it less 
pleasing to the eye than fomerly. As the church building 
was fast getting too small for the increasing membership 
and parish, a movement was begun this same year, looking 
toward the building of a new edifice, which was so generously 
and enthusiastically received, that undoubtedly, a larger and 
handsomer one will take the place of the old one in the near 
future, as a large sum is already pledged and on deposit for 
that purpose. 

During the ministry of Rev. Samuel Jackson, 1 886-90, 
several young men belonging to this Church, moved with a 
missionary spirit, began work in the somewhat retired district 
situated southwest of Swain's Pond, and east of Lebanon 
Street. Their labors were fruitful; religious services were 
held, a Sabbath School begun, and in 1891, a chapel was 
erected on Swain's Pond Avenue, and dedicated December 
20, of that year, by Rev. J, H. Mansfield, D. D., Presiding 
Elder of the Lynn District. 

The late Charles Pratt, in his will, left SiO.OOO to the 
Stewards of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Melrose, to 
be used for " Christian Missions." This was the amount his 
estate was to receive after his death, for the sale of his old 
farm homestead on Lebanon Street, to the Town of Melrose, 
for cemetery purposes; the town giving its note for the same, 



142 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

and Mr. Pratt to receive the interest only during his remaining 
years. Out of this generous bequest, this Swain's Pond Chapel 
was built; and it is very appropriately named "The Pratt 
Memorial." A Sabbath School and religious services were 
sustained in this chapel by the Methodist Church for a num- 
ber of years, but it has now been leased b}' the Congregational 
Church of Maplewood, Rev. Charles S. Macfarland, pastor. 

The Sabbath School of the parent Church, the oldest one in 
Melrose, was first organized in June, 1824, under the pastorate 
of Rev. Samuel Norris, who acted as superintendent. It 
numbered thirty members all told, and in August, a library- 
was bought consisting of thirteen \olumes, only one being a 
bound book. Among its superintendents, the late Fernando 
C. Taylor held that office for a period of twenty-five years. 
The present membership of the School, with officers and teach- 
ers, is 506, and Francis P. Luce is the present superintendent. 
It has a library of 600 \olumes. 

Still another Sabbath School is connected with the Metho- 
dist Church. This is known as the " East Side Mission." It 
is held, together with weekly religious exercises, in the old 
school-house, built in 1856, on Upham Street, near East Street. 
It has 167 members, and VV, DeHa\'en Jones is the superin- 
tendent. This makes a total Sabbath School membership 
under the jurisdiction of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
960. Affiliated with the East Side Mission is the East Side 
Ladies' Aid Association. 

The affiliated societies of the Church are the Epworth 
League, Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, Woman's Home 
Missionar\^ Society, the Ladies' Aid Society, the Maternal 
Association and the Methodist Brotherhood. 

The Melrose Orthodox Congreg.\tioxal Church. Very 
earh' in the present century, and long before the Orthodox 
Church was formed, preaching services were held occasional!)' 
by Congregational ministers, either in the little old unpaintcd 
school-house, situated on the old road, now Lebanon Street, 
on a knoll then existing very near where now lives Deacon 
John Buffum, or, in the parlors of some North Maldenite. 
These were generally conducted by the resident pastor of the 
Maiden Centre Church. 

By the >-ear 1848, after the Railroad had been opened from 
Boston to Lawrence, it was found tliat (]uite' a number of 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 143 

members of Congregational Churches had become residents of 
North Maiden; besides others, not members, whose sympathies 
were in this direction; and soon religious ser\^ices began to be 
held; first, in the house of Dr. Levi Gould, then living on Main 
Street, opposite the present Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
the house now standing and belonging to the heirs of the late 
George W. Farnsworth. There are those now living who well 
remember these services, and the part they took in preparing 
for them; among them Levi S. Gould and Edwin C. Gould; 
these young boys brought chairs from the neighbors' houses, 
to accommodate the audiences. Previous to these meetings. 
Dr. Gould would often take some one of like persuasion in his 
chaise, and attend church; sometimes in Stoneham and some- 
times in Wakefield. 

After two, possibly three, of these Sunday services at Dr. 
Gould's the parlors of Deacon Jonathan Cochran, on Grove 
Street, being larger, were opened for these meetings; and 
here, April 25, 1848, began the first preaching services, bv 
Rev. Stillman Pratt, who afterwards became the first settled 
pastor. After a few weeks, the audiences increasing mean- 
while, the passenger room of the Boston and Maine Railroad 
Station was obtained for this purpose; and here was formed 
the Sunday School, with James L. Crosett acting as leader. 
This was in the days of quiet, before the ad\ent of Sunday 
trains! Here w^ere held preaching services, and the sessions 
of the Sunday School for several weeks. This building still 
stands on Essex Street, and is now used as the freight depot. 

Steps were soon taken for the organization of a Church, and 
a preliminary meeting of brethren was held Ma_v 21, 1848, 
when the Articles of Faith and Covenant, as held bv the 
Church of Stoneham were adopted; and a committee consist- 
ing of Jonathan Cochran and James L. Crosett, was appointed 
to call a Council of Churches to advise, and if deemed ex- 
pedient, to form a Church in accordance with the Congre- 
gational form. The Council met in the Academy Building, 
then on Berwick Street, afterwards moved to Main Street, 
and known as Lyceum Hall, on July ii, 1848. The Churches 
represented were from Reading, Wakefield, Maiden, Stone- 
ham, Lynnfield, Chelsea, P2verett, then South Maiden, Saugus, 
and Medford. The Council approxx-d the proposed plan, and 
the Melrose Orthodox Congregational Church was then organ- 



144 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

ized, with reading of the minutes, invocation, consecrating 
prayer, sermon by Rev. Isaac P. Langworthy, and other cus- 
tomary exercises. 

The Rev. Stillman Pratt became the first pastor, being 
called April i8, and was installed May 17, 1849. He had 
acted as their minister for several months previous. Mr. 
Pratt took part in the Bi-Centennial Celebration of Maiden, 
which occurred May 23, 1849, writing an original hymn for 
the occasion, which was sung to the tune of " North Bend," 
two stanzas of which follow: 

Two hundred years have rolled away 

Since here our fathers came ; 
And we their sons come here to-day 

To celebrate their fame. 

God of the nations ! in Thy sight 

A thousand years are one, — 
Oh ! here defend us b)' Thy might, 

Then take us to thy throne. 

The original members, twehe in number, who joined by 
letter from other churches, July ii, were as follows: 
Jonathan Cochran, Levi Gould, 

Mary Cochran, Tristram Bird, 

Seth Rich, Sylva Bird, 

James L. Crosett, Mary S. Manning, 

Elizabeth D. Crosett, Mary R. Pratt, 

Lucinda Howard, Olive Carey. 

Only one of these members is now living, Mrs. Elizabeth 
D. Crosett, now of San Francisco, California; she was one of 
the Sunday School teachers, and one of the choir singers. 
Some moved away, taking letters to other churches. Dr. 
Gould died January 6, 1850; Deacon Cochran died January 6, 
1885, aged 93 years and 6 months, having been deacon thirt}-- 
six years; all the others who remained in Melrose have joined 
the " silent majority," 

Very soon after the Church was formed, a movement was 
made to build a meeting-house, which was accomplished 
through the unwearied efforts of Dr. Le\"i Gould, Dea. Jonathan 
Cochran, James L. Crosett and others, who not only solicited 
contributions, but two of them at least, Dr. Gould and Dea. 
Cochran worked on the foundations of the building with pick 
and shovel. Land was bought on West Foster Street, the meet- 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 145 

ing-house commenced in October, 184S, and completed and 
dedicated May 17, 1849; but services had been held in the ves- 
try as soon as it was completed, March 11, about two months 
before. The land and building cost $3,500 ; of this amount the 
society raised about S400, among themselves, S600 was con- 
tributed by members of neighboring churches, and the remain- 
ing $2,500 was placed on mortgage. For four >'ears after its 
organization the Church was aided in its current expenses, in 
sums ranging from S44 to S200 per annum, a total of S619, 
by the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society. The Church 
then, in 1852, numbered twenty-four members. 

Concerning the early days of its history the first Church 
Manual, published in 1859, has the following: 

Very much was due in the early history of the church and in results 
reached, under God, to the earnest and faithful labors of the first 
pastor, Rev. Stillman Pratt, and the brethren associated with him. 
It should also be added, as showing that God has carried us through 
dark days, that in the early part of 1853, the Meeting House was taken 
possession of by the mortgagee, and with heavy hearts brethren 
removed the furniture of the pews. This gentleman, however, made a 
liberal offer to the society, and by earnest and continued efforts, a sum 
sufficient to satisfy the mortgagee was raised, chiefly among them- 
selves, and liberal friends in Boston and elsewhere, and possession of 
the house resumed. 

And from the Revised Manual oi 1892: 

It is difficult at the present time to realize all that this first venture 
meant to the few brave souls who constituted the little church. They 
were but a handful and gave literally " of their poverty that others 
might be rich." The population was sparse, and the territory only a 
few oldtime farms, with here and there rocky ledges, rough bits" of 
pasture, and clumps of stunted pine. 

This little original white-painted church edifice, with its 
clock and steeple, was enlarged, remodelled, and made over 
into a building of Gothic architectural design during the year 

1858, at a cost of Si0,000. It was re-dedicated January 5, 

1859, with a sermon by Rev. Edward N. Kirk, D. D.^ of 
Boston. 

There is no view of the original church building in existence. 
In one of its small vestries, a part of the town's primar\- 
school was held one or more seasons. There are yet members 
of the Church and congregation, whose memory clusters around 



146 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



the past events, and who bring to mind the pleasant scenes and 
occurences which took place in the little white church during 
its history before its absorption in the more stately structure. 




ORTHODOX CONGKIiGATIONAL CHCRCn. I-rom Painting by T. C. Bartholomew. 

The remodeled church was burned Februar}- it, 1869. In 
the picture will be obser\-ed a small house which was consumed 
at the same time. This stood where now stands the residence 
of Mrs. Emma Burnham. It was then a tenement containing 
two families, and it has a somewhat interesting history. The 
original building was the little iui}jainted school-house, before 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 147 

spoken of, and which is minutely described in the chapter on 
" Educational History." It was not only the school-house in 
those early days, but various religious services were often held 
therein, before any church building existed. It was after- 
wards bought, in 1828, by the Methodist Protestant Society, 
moved to the corner of Main and Upham (then Church) 
Streets, where it remained until that society built its new 
church in 1842; meanwhile having become often called the 
" Duck Pen." It was then moved to the corner of Myrtle 
and West Foster Streets, and there burned, as stated. Not at 
all disheartened at this calamity, the society immediately 
took steps to build another church. Subscriptions were made, 
a large lot of land containing 48,800 square feet, at the corner 
of West Foster and Willow Streets, and adjoining the old 
church lot, was purchased, and the corner-stone laid November 
24, 1869. On this occasion, an address was made by the 
pastor, Rev. Albert G. Bale, an historical statement made by 
Deacon Calvin N. Chapin, and a box containing a variety of 
articles, coins, newspapers, the Melrose Memonal, etc., was 
placed beneath the stone. The church was finished and dedi- 
cated October 26, 1870, with a sermon by the pastor, and an 
address by Rev. Isaac P. Langworthv. 

During its erection public worship was held in Lyceum 
Hall, Main Street, formerly the old Melrose Academy, on 
Berwick Street, in which the Church was first organized and 
where some of its services were held. The land and building 
cost $42,000. Extensive repairs were made in 1890, during 
which time a handsome memorial window was placed in the 
front vestibule, by Maurice G. Cochrane, in honor of his 
grandfather, Jonathan Cochran, so long its senior deacon. 

The first pastor, Mr. Pratt, resigned in April, 185 1, and Rev. 
Isaac H. Northrop was installed January 15, 1852. He was 
dismissed in March, 1853, and the Rev. Alexander J. Sessions 
was installed in January, 1854. His relationship ceased in 
1858, and Rev. P:dward H. Buck became the pastor. He died 
January 31, 1861. Rev. Henry A. Stevens succeeded, being 
ordained September 12, 1861, remaining until May, 1868. He 
was succeeded by Rev. Albert G. Bale, who was ordained 
December 3, 1868. After an unusually long pastorate of 
twenty-seven and a half \-ears, Mr. Bale resigned in Ma>-, 1S96, 
remaining until July 15. 



148 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

At the meeting of the Church, held ]\Ia}' 4. at which time 
his resignation was accepted, the following resolutions were 
presented by Elbridge H. Goss, and adopted. 

Whereas. The Rev. Albert G. Bale having resigned the pastorate 
of the Melrose Orthodox Congregational Church, and the same having 
been accepted, it is fitting that some expression of the relations that 
have existed between us for a period of over twenty-seven j-ears, be 
adopted b}' us here assembled ; therefore ; 

Resolved, That it is with deep feelings of regret that the pleasant 
ties that have so long existed between pastor and people are now to 
be sundered. He has been in and out with us, these many years, in 
our sorrows and in our joys; -our cheerful and helpful counsellor both 
to young and old; has given aid and comfort, unreservedly, wherever 
and whenever needed. 

Resolved, That to whatever station in life he may hereafter be 
called, we can recommend him as a scholar of high cultureand deep 
experience ; a thinker, sound and logical ; a mind, well stored from 
wide reading and travel; in knowledge, profound and far-reaching. 

Resolved, That we can testify to a walk in life among his people, 
with a character unimpeachable ; unstained by the faintest breath of 
suspicion ; a heart ever open to distress ; full of kindliest sympathy ; 
a disposition the most charitable ; in short, a man bearing away with 
him the universal respect and admiration of all with whom he has 
been associated, whether of our church and parish, or of his fellow 
townsmen. 

Resolved. That it is the heart}^ desire of this Church, that wherever 
his lot may be cast, the choicest blessings of God may be with him and 
his ; that the consolation and sustaining influence of that religion he 
has so earnestly and faithfully set before his people, may be experi- 
enced by him through the remaining years of his life. 

Resolved. That these resolutions be spread upon the Church rec- 
ords, and that a copy of the same be sent to the Rev. A. G. Bale, by 
the Clerk of the Church. 

At a meeting of the Church held March 3, 1897, a call was 
extended to Rev. Thomas Sims, D. D., late of Toronto, Canada, 
to become its pastor; and at a special meeting of the Society 
held March 18, the action of the Church was concurred in. 
The services of installation were waived, and in their stead a 
mutual agreement for a three years' pastorate was made, and 
the services of recognition were held May 25, 1897. ^^' 
dresses were made by Rev. R. A. Beard, D. D., Rev. George 
A. Tewksbury, Rev. J. Cooper Antliff, D. D., Rev. Joel M. 
Leonard, Ph. D., Rev. Burke F. Lea\itt, Deacon W'illiam Mc- 
Cartney, and the Pastor. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



149 



From the day the Church was organized to the present, 
year by year, members have joined by letter, and by profes- 
sion of faith; members have died, or have removed to other 
parts of the land; many have been dismissed to other churches, 
but there has been a constantly increasing growth until the 




OkTHUUUX CONGKEGATIOXAI, CHIKCH. 



present time, when the membership is 496. Since the Church 
was organized there have been connected with it nine hundred 
and seventy-nine (979) members; fixe hundred and eight}'-two 
(582) came by letters from other churches, and three hundred 
and ninety-se\'en (397) by profession of faith. 



150 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The Sunday School was organized in the Melrose Depot, in 
1S48, when it had but few scholars, and was under the leader- 
ship of James L. Crosett. As soon as the vestry of the church 
was sufficiently advanced to allow the Sabbath School to 
meet and organize therein, Dr. Le^"i Gould became the first 
superintendent. From that time the school has prospered, 
increasing year by year until the present, when it numbers 558 
members, divided into primary, junior and senior departments. 
Some five years ago a home department was organized, and is 
now under the superintendency of Dea. Frank G. Kellogg, 
with over two hundred members. This consists of such per- 
sons as cannot well attend the Sunday School sessions con- 
tinuously, but receive the quarterlies used in the school, agree- 
ing to study the lesson at least a half hour each week. In 
connection with this department are twenty-four messenger 
bo}^s and a "Sunshine Band" of thirty-three members. The 
total membership of the school is 766. 

The Melrose Orthodox Congregational Society was incor- 
porated under the General Statutes, July 8, 1848, at which 
time, a meeting having been duly warned, a constitution and 
by-laws were adopted. The following persons were present 
and signed the constitution: 

Stillman Pratt, James L. Crosett, 

Tristram Bird, Moses Parker, 

Seth Rich, Joseph E. Stanwood, 

Jonathan Cochran, John Mclntire, 

Levi Gould, Nelson Cochran. 

Dr. Levi Gould was chosen first clerk of \.ht Society. Here 
are two distinct but closely allied bodies, Church and Society, 
each having an entirely different set of officers. The Church, 
with pastor, deacons, deaconesses, church benevolence and 
missionary committees, having jurisdiction over the preaching 
and prayer-meeting services, the choosing of the officers of the 
Sunday School, the communion table, benevolent contribu- 
tions, and care of the poor of the Church. The Society has 
general care and charge of all parish propert\', builds the 
edifice, raises all moneys for parish expenses, and unites with 
the Church in calling or dismissing a pastor. 

In 1882, a handsome parsonage was erected on the site of 
the old church, from architectural plans made by the then 
pastor, Rev. Mr. Bale, at a cost of S6,ooo. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



151 



The twenty-fifth anniversary of the organization of the 
Church was recognized in June, 1873, with an historical ser- 
mon by the pastor, Mr. Bale; as was also the fortieth anni- 
versary, when an historical sermon was delivered by Mr. 
Bale;- and on Sunday the 19th. and Monday the 20th of June, 
1898, Church, Society, and Sunday School joined in celebrating 
the fiftieth anniversary. A sermon appropriate to the occa- 
sion was preached by the pastor, Rev. Thomas Sims, D. D., 
and addresses were made b>- Rev. Daniel March, D. D., Rev. 
Charles H. Daniels, D. D., and Rev. Smith Baker, D. D. Two 
past pastors were present. Rev. Albert G. Bale, and Rev- 
Henry A. Stevens, both of whom took part in the exercises. 
Also the living past superintendents of the Sunday School, 
whose names and terms of service are as follows: 

Deacon Calvin N. Chapin, 1854 to 1S69. 

Deacon Curtis C. Goss, January, 1S69, to January, 1874. 

Elbridge H. Goss, January, 1874, to January, 1875. 

Stephen A. Lovejoy, July, 1877, to January, 1878. 

Deacon Calvin N. Chapin, January, 1878, to January, 1879. 

John M. Small, January, 1879, to Januar>', 1880. 

Stephen A. Lovejoy, January, 1880, to January, 1882. 

Deacon Curtis C. Goss, January, 1882, to July, 1884. 

Albert B. Franklin, July, 1884, to July, 1887. 

George L. Morse, July, 1887, to July, 1890. 

Don E. Curtis, Jul>', 1890, to July, 1893. 



- This sermon was printed in the 
Melrose Journal. His text was 
Deut. viii, 2: "And thou shalt 
remember all the way which the 
Lord thy God led thee these forty 
years." Two extracts follow: 
" Through the mists of forty years 
shines a beautiful picture, when on 
that Sabbath moruing the fathers 
and mothers of this Church met for 
the first time in the room of the 
old Melrose Passenger Depot for 
the public worship of God. It 
seems more like a missionary meet- 
ing on the western frontier than 



But forty years ago no such charm- 
ing picture of suburban life met 
the eye, as now, from the crest of 
any one of these hills. Main Street 
was then, as at present, part of the 
main turnpike between Boston and 
Reading. Essex Street extended, 
then, only as far as Main Street on 
the east, and ending on the west in 
a cart-road leading into the woods. 
On the west side of the railroad 
was a continuous road from the 
Highlands. Upham and Howard 
Streets were the old roads to Sau- 
gus. There was not, at that time. 



the meeting of a Congregational a single house on Wyoming Hill, 

Church in old Massachusetts — on which was then a rocky blueberry 

one of its main railroad lines, and pasture." 
onlv seven miles from Boston. . . . 



152 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Rev. John L. Kilbon, jr., July, 1893, to July, 1894. 
Don E. Curtis, July, 1894, to July, 1897. 
Frank G. Kellogg, July, 1897, ^o July, 1900. 
Don E. Curtis, July, 1900. to July, 1902. 
George A. Manning, July, 1902. 

Many former residents and members took the occasion to 
visit and renew the acquaintances of their old church home. 

The affiliated societies of this Church are as follows: Young 
People's Society of Christian Endeavor, Junior Young People's 
Society of Christian Endeavor, and Woman's Union. 

Under this head all other affiliated societies, benevolent and 
social, each having its separate superintendent or president, 
are as follows: Foreign Missions; Home Missions; Social 
Committee; Altruist Committee; Music Committee; and House- 
keeping Committee. 

The present officers of the Church are: Deacons, Calvin N. 
Chapin, John Buffum, Elbridge H. Goss, Moses S. Page, 
Thomas H. Tucker, George R. Jones, Frank G. Kellogg, 
Danforth D. Stratton and Albert B. Franklin. Deaconesses, 
Mrs. Florence M. Whitman, Mrs. Frances A. Brackett, Mrs. 
Caroline M. Cox, Miss Susan P. Harrold and Mrs. Frances J. 
Grout. Clerk, Isaac A. Cochran. Treasurer, John Buffum. 
Auditor, Wingate P. Sargent. 

Previous Church clerks as follows: Dr. Levi Gould served 
from July ii, 1848, to January, 1850; Samuel Harris, June," 
1850, to Jul>% 1854; Edward P. Nevins, July, 1854, to January, 
1861; Elbridge H. Goss, January, 1861, to December 29, 1874; 
Isaac A. Cochran, December 29, 1874. and is the present 
clerk. 

The present officers of the Societ\' are: Assessors, John 
Buffum, chairman, Moses S. Page and George R. Jones. 
Treasurer and collector, Elbridge H. Goss. Clerk, Lindley 
R. Browne. Auditor, Isaac A. Cochran. These together form 
the prudential committee, and ha\^e the general charge of all 
parish affairs. Previous treasurers: Seth Rich, Dr. Moses 
Parker and .'\lverse L. White, who served from 1852 to 1867. 
Pre\ious clerks: Dr. Le\i Gould, Nelson Cochran and Curtis 
C. Goss, who scr\ed from 1866 to 1897.'^ 

^ Possibly others served as treas- sou Cochran aud Curtis C. Goss; 
urersbetweeuDr.ParkeraudA.lv. but names cannot be giveu as 
White, aud as clerks between Nel- records were burned and charred 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 153 

George A. Thompson has been organist of the Societ>^ for 
twenty-seven years. 

In the year 1897, the Sunday School had become so large 
that the chapel could not accommodate all the different 
departments; and it was found necessary to have the inter- 
mediate department meet in the church auditorium. Just 
before this, in September, 1896, the Altruists, while Frank 
G. Kellogg was president, inaugurated a movement to raise 
money with which to purchase a carpet for the chapel, and 
procure some decorations for its walls, which resulted in raising 
a moderate but insufificient sum. Soon after, under the en- 
thusiastic and persistent efforts of Mr. Kellogg, then superin- 
tendent of the Sunday School, the still wider purpose of 
enlarging the chapel was adopted, that all might be accomo- 
dated therein; and with the cooperation of the church and 
parish committees, a s}'stem of weekly oft'erings b}' Church 
and Sunday School was commenced and continued through 
the years 1897 and 1898, which resulted in raising the sum of 
$2,500, which was placed in the hands of the chapel fund 
committee, consisting of Frank G. Kellogg, Don E. Curtis, 
Curtis C. Goss, George R. Jones, Franklin P. Shumway, Isaac A. 
Cochran and Elbridge H. Goss, which had been appointed by 
the Altruists. By a renewed effort, continued through the 
year 1899, the sum was increased to $6,000 by cash and 
pledges. 

This sum was deemed sufficient by the prudential commit- 
tee to warrant the Societ}' to proceed with the alterations and 
enlargement; and preliminar}- plans were obtained and sub- 
mitted to the Parish by the chapel fund committee; and at a 
duly called meeting of the Parish the following were chosen 
as a building committee : ^Albert B. Franklin, Chairman; 
George R. Jones, John Buffum, John jNI. Small, and Lindley 
R. Browne, Clerk. Messrs. Hartwell, Richardson & Driver, 
architects, were employed by this committee, and new plans 
were made b}' them for the enlargement, and when submitted 
it was found that it \\ould require a much larger sum than 
$6,000 to accomplish the desired object. A new and urgent 
effort was then made, asking for cash contributions and 
pledges covering the period of one, two and three years. 

in the "Great Fire" of November collector from 1S58 to 1867, when 
9, 10, 1872. E. H. Goss served as the offices were united. 



154 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The matter was presented to the Society, on Sunday morning, 
instead of the regular service, by Albert B. Franklin, and the 
sum of $10,000 was raised, which added to the amount previ- 
ously raised made a total of $i6,000. This result was received 
with great gratification. Subsequent pledges raised the total 
to $16,106.99. 

At this time, the spring of 1900, there had been a conviction 
growing in the parish and community, that the main church 
building was in an unsafe condition. An examination by the 
state inspectors, and the architects, Messrs. Hartwell, Rich- 
ardson & Driver, resulted in the building being condemned. 
Services therein were at once prohibited by the prudential 
committee. Plans for the strengthening of the edifice were im- 
mediately made, and it was found necessary to take $5,677.22 
of the above sum raised for the enlargement of the chapel, for 
this purpose. 

A contract was made with Angus Mac Donald, and under the 
charge of the building committee, this strengthening was 
accomplished by placing eight columns from the foundation, 
with cross-beams in the auditorium. A new chancel was con- 
structed, a new system of ventilation for both church and 
chapel introduced, new windows substituted, and the interior 
re-plastered and re-frescoed. This was successfully and satis- 
factorily accomplished, and services for the re-opening of the 
church were held October 14, 1900, with an appropriate sermon 
by the pastor, and other exercises. 

The chapel building was materially enlarged on its westerly 
side, under contract with Mr. MacDonald. This has given 
spacious rooms for- the junior and primary departments, a 
pastor's room, choir room, library room, and in the basement, 
toilet rooms, coat rooms and kitchen; and on the northerly 
end an extra entrance. New windows and other improve- 
ments were made in the main chapel room. The total cost of 
this enlargement and these improvements, was $11,066.79; 
making a total outlay of $16,744.01, of which $139.89 was paid 
by the ladies, from the chapel furnishing fund. This over- 
run the total amount raised for this purpose about $500, which 
sum was raised by subscription at a business men's banquet 
held in the chapel, February 5, 1900. These changes were 
made and the School met in the newlv arranged and finished 
quarters on Sunda}', November 18, 1900. Meanwhile Sunday 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 155 

School services had been held in the Y. M. C. A. Rooms, as 
had the preaching services of the parish, with the exception of 
four, which were held in the City Hall, by permission of the 
Board of Aldermen. 

While out of a church home, kind and generous offers of 
other societies, inviting the Church to hold its services in 
their meeting-houses, were received. Such was the case with 
the Universalist, the Baptist and the Methodist Societies. It 
should be recorded that the same kindly offers were tendered 
when the church was burned in 1869. 

Great credit should be given to the building committee for 
its successful work; especiall\- to its chairman, Mr. Franklin, 
for his energetic and unwearied effort in carrying these various 
improvements to a successful termination, and to the great 
satisfaction of all the members of the Melrose Orthodox 
Congregational Parish. 

The Melrose Highlands Congregational Church. The 
first attempt to hold religious exercises at the Highlands was 
made in the spring of 1857, when Deacon Augustus Durant 
commenced a Sunday School in the Franklin Street School- 
house. This was discontinued when winter came, although a 
Bible class was taught by him through the following winter, 
which met at different houses. Soon after this 

one of the most fortunate of things happened to the Highlands in the 
arrival of a gentleman of religious convictions and enthusiasm, with his 
bride. It were idle for us to speculate on what would have been done 
to care for the religious life of the people if they had not made their 
home in this place under the rocks ; for in other hearts the question 
had been asked, "What shall we do?" But, having once taken up 
their abode here, a Church was a foregone conclusion. I need not tell 
you that this man was our venerable but youthful Deacon Joel Snow, 
and that the bride was his good wife. It was the twelfth day of 
October, 1859, when they came ; and now, for over twenty-seven years, 
they have been foremost in every good work.-*^ 

The Church here foreshadowed was organized in 1875. For 
some years previous to this preaching services had been fre- 
quently held; some were out of doors, generally at the arch- 
way embankment on Melrose Street, when pastors from the 
centre of the town officiated; and others in the loft of the 

* From Origin and Grozvth of Highlands, a sennou preached Nov. 
the Religious Movement, at Melrose i, 1886, by Rev. John G. Taylor. 



156 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



stable building then situated on the corner of Tremont and 
Franklin Streets, which came to be known as the "Highland 
Chapel;" the use of which had been given by Deacon George 
W. Chipman, who, in the fall of i86i, altered and furnished it 
for that purpose; fitting the lower story for a dwelling. In 
this chapel, not only these preaching services were held, but 




BIRTHPLACE OF CHURCH. 

regular weekly prayer meetings. Later, the Highlands Union 
Sunday School, formed February 21, 1869. with the names of 
forty-five persons as "charter members," and with Deacon 
Calvin N. Chapin, as its superintendent, met regularly in the 
chapel. 

During these preliminary years, preaching services were 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 157 

continued quite regularly, the pulpit being mostly supplied by 
pastors from the centre of the town. Among others were 
Thomas J. Clithero and A. E. Higgins, students from the 
Boston Theological Seminary, the latter continuing until a few 
months before the Church was organized, which event took 
place September 29, 1875, with thirty-nine members; thirty- 
three by letter, and six on profession of faith; of the original 
members, twenty-one were Congregationalists, seven Method- 
ists, four Baptists, and one Lutheran; the entire membership 
represented fifteen different churches. Rev. D. Allen More- 
house, who had been supplying the pulpit for a few months, 
was installed as its first pastor, with a sermon by Rev. William 
H. Willcox, D. D., of Reading. A silver communion service 
was presented to the new Church by the Mystic Church of 
Medford. 

In August, 1876, Mr. Morehouse resigned, and on Novem- 
ber 19, of the same year. Rev. John G. Taylor was installed 
as his successor. Very soon after this, Mr. Taylor began to 
agitate the subject of building a church edifice; and by dint of 
persistent effort and hard struggling, this worthy object was 
successfully accomplished. A building committee was ap- 
pointed, land bought on the corner of Franklin and Ashland 
Streets, ground broken April 25, 1878, the corner-stone laid 
September 13, 1879, and the church dedicated September 29, 
1880. Five years later a chapel was built, adjoining the 
church, the cost of the whole being $14,150. In 1883 Mr. 
Taylor went abroad for fourteen months, and Re\'. Henry 
Bates officiated as pastor. 

For nine years this young Church was nourished by the 
Massachusetts Home Missionary Society, which contributed 
to its running expenses. In a sermon preached b}' Mr. Taylor, 
Januar}- 9, 1887, he said: 

We talk of ourselves now in the words of ten years ago, without 
thinking that we have bought a large lot of land, built two houses of 
worship, or a church and a chapel, relinquished a yearly income of 
S300 at first and $150 later from the Missionary Society, and received 
into the church since its organization, exclusive of the 39 original 
members, 1 12 persons, and since I began my work with j-ou in Novem- 
ber, '76, 106 persons. In other departments of church work the 
growth has been correspondingly encouraging. 

And a week later, in his Tenth A>iiiii'ersary Ser)noii: 



158 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

When I first became acquainted with you, you were about fourteen 
months old, and had a membership of fortj'-five. Of this world's 
goods you had but verj- little, — only a small reed organ, and a few 
settees, and chairs, and lamps. It was primitive enough for the year 
1620 at Plymouth. Underneath this hall in the loft lived a good 
woman, whose staunch piety was of more worth than any cornerstone 
of granite could be, and in one corner of the first floor was a room 
with a large window, in which were tempting bits of merchandise, and 
afterwards candies, and bread, and sweetmeats. No room in the 
House of Seven Gables could have been more worth)- of the story- 
teller's pen. The stairway up which we climbed, like Pilgrims going 
up the hill which overlooks Plymouth Bay, landed us not far from a 
large stove, and just far enough from the side of the room to save our 
heads from bumping against the slanting roof. On the other side, the 
singers poured forth their feelings in good music, guiding a congrega- 
tion which had not lived long enough to forget how to sing ; while in 
the north end, just under the gable window, the minister stood behind 
a pulpit which had been made out of an old school desk, draped in 
scarlet. 

In July, 1892, the Church voted to become incorporated 
under the General Statutes, and by due process became a 
corporation, following which action the Melrose Highlands 
Congregational Society voted to transfer its property inter- 
ests and effects to the incorporated Church, which trust was 
accepted by vote of the Church, July 21, 1893. Mr. Taylor 
resigned March 30, 1893; soon after which a call was extended 
to Rev. Burke F. Lea\'itt; and after several weeks of con- 
sideration he accepted. He entered upon his duties October 
15, 1893, and was installed No\'ember i. He had been pre- 
\iously settled in the ministry in Portland, Chicago, and 
Oregon. 

The Parish now grew so rapidly that it was found to be in 
straightened circumstances; and very soon after Mr. Leavitt 
was settled the building of a new church edifice was success- 
fully agitated. The old church was sold to George J. Bicknell, 
for the sum of $1,000, and mo\ecl across the street to the land 
where once existed the little Highland Pond, which had then 
been filled up. Soon after it was bought by the Shepard Manu- 
facturing Company, and is now used as the factory for its ex- 
tensive siKxM'-ware business. Ground was broken for the new 
church edifice April 23, 1895, the corner-stone laid June 29, 
1895, ^^^ 't ^^'ss dedicated January- 2, 1896. It is a large, well 



ECCLESIA S TIC A L HIS TOR Y. 



159 



arranged building, having all the appointments of the modern 
church structure, and a seating capacity of 750. Its total cost 
was $21,689. A number of its stained-glass windows were given 
by Sabbath School classes; its organ by the ladies of the parish; 
and a fine toned bell, weighing 2,300 pounds, costing $350 was 
given by the Sabbath School. 

The following figures, given at the fifth anniversary of the 
settlement of Mr. Leavitt, show not only a successful pastor- 
ate, but indicate the rapid growth of that portion of our town. 
During that period the new church was built; $28,259 raised 
for home expenses — twice as much as during the previous five 




HIGHLANDS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

years — and for benevolent objects $3,206. against $1,349 for 
the previous period; 237 members were added to the church, 
117 on profession. Present number of members, 362. 

The affiliated organizations of this Church are as follows: 
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, Men's Chris- 
tian League, Women's Christian League, Young Men's Chris- 
tian League, Societ>' of King's Daughters, and Junior Christian 
Endeavor Societ)'. 

Deacon Chapin continued as superintendent of the Sunday 
School for five years, when he resigned, and was succeeded b^' 



160 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Florentine S. Shaw, for three years. Then Deacon William W. 
Mason was elected, when, having moved away, he was suc- 
ceeded in 1882, by Paul Hayward. He was succeeded in 1885, 
by Alfred Blanchard. In 1892, Deacon- Mason having again 
become a resident of the Highlands, was again chosen superin- 
tendent, and was succeeded by the present superintendent, 
Walter H. Todd. Present membership of the School, including 
the home department is 580. 

The deacons are: Angus MacDonald, Frederick A. Films, 
W. S. Fawcett, Richard Hicks, W. E. Stanley, Samuel Thurs- 
ton, Fred A. Houdlette and George W. Bears. Clerk, George 
W. Basford. Treasurer and collector, James W. Murray. 

The Twenty-fifth Anniversary was celebrated by the Church, 
with services extending from September 28, to October 3, 
1900, during which time an anniversary sermon was preached 
by the pastor. Rev. Burke F. Leavitt, an historical address 
by Rev, John G. Taylor, an address by Deacon Calvin N. 
Chapin, the first superintendent, an address by Rev. C. I. 
Scofield, and a banquet, with vocal and instrumental music 
freely interspersed throughout the exercises. 

The First Baptist Church. In the year 1828, several 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church became dissatis- 
fied with the form of Church government, left it, and formed 
themselves into a Protestant Methodist Church. They soon 
after purchased of the North Maiden school district, the 
little, old, unpainted school-house, hereafter to be described, 
which stood near the corner of the old road, now Lebanon 
Street, and Upham Lane, now Upham Street. This they en- 
larged somewhat, and dedicated it as a place of worship in 
1830. It then had seventeen members, and the first pastor 
was Rev. Thomas F. Norris. 

More or less ill feeling and controversy had existed, and 
continued to exist, between this Church and the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, which was formed several years before 
this, and, in the process of time, and for some reason, no one 
knows why, this church building was stigmatized with the 
name of the " Duck Pen;" and that of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, at the junction of Green and Main Streets, as the 
"Cider Mill." The after history of the " Cider Mill" has 
been given in the sketch of the Methodist Episcopal Church; 
that of the "Duck Pen" in the sketch of the Melrose Ortho- 
dox Congregational Church. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 161 

In 1841, the Church having- outgrown this little school-house 
structure, which had accommodated it since 1830, steps were 
taken, and a new edifice was built and dedicated. The little 
broadside containing- the "Order of Exercises at the Dedi- 
cation of the First Methodist Protestant Church, Maiden, 
(North), January 27th, 1842," announces the hymns, anthems, 
dedicatory pra}'er, sermon, etc., but gives no names of those 
who took the various parts. 

For over a quarter of a century the Protestant Methodist 
Church maintained its organization, but not without a severe 
struggle and a considerable loss of membership. Meanwhile a 
number of Baptists had mo\-ed into North Maiden; and Janu- 
ary I, 1856, the First Baptist Church of Melrose, was org-anized 
with thirteen members of Baptist churches, and eight Protes- 
tant Methodists, that remained. This list of members was as 
follows: 

Rev. Thorndike C. Jameson, Caroline C. Bickford, 
Mrs. Thorndike C. Jameson, Lucy Randall, 
Eliza J. Shelton, Caroline Jones, 

William B. Burgess, Caleb Howard, 

Ransom J. Norton, Madeline S. Howard, 

Mrs. Ransom J. Norton, George Howard, 

Elizabeth Wood, Addison Lane, 

William Dix, Clarissa Jackson, 

Mrs. George Upham, William Pierce, 

Betsey Converse, Cynthia Pierce, 

William J. Farnsworth. 
The only one of these original members now living is Addi- 
son Lane, now in his eighty-second year, and who for many 
years has been one of the deacons; and who was Superintend- 
ent of the Water Works for several }-ears, and Collector of 
Taxes for five years. 

The following is a copy of the vote passed by the Society 
previous to the formation of the Baptist Church: 

Caleb Howard Addison Lane & W. J. Farnsworth Trustees of the 
First Methodist Protestant Society in Melrose in consideration of $400 
paid by the first Baptist Society in Melrose and in pursuance of a Vote 
of said Methodist Protestant Society passed Sept. 3 A D. 1855 Quit 
Claimed to Baptist Society its Successors & assigns a certain piece of 
land with Meeting house subject to a Mortgage of $1200 to H. Ban- 
croft. Signed this Sept 8 1855 acknowledged Sept 10 Reed Sept 18 
1855 Lib. 722 fol 356, 7. 



162 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



The Protestant Methodists continued their organization but 
for a short time, the town allowing- them to meet in the old 
Engine House, recently removed from the northerly side of 
the Baptist Church, Rev. George Peirson acting as pastor. 

At the time of the formation of the Baptist Church, the 
propert}' consisted of the small church building erected in 
1842, and the large lot of land on which it stood, at the corner 
of Main and Upham Streets; the Baptist Church assumed the 




FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. 



indebtedness then resting upon the property, a mortgage of 
Si, 200, and, in addition, paid the Methodist Protestant Church, 
as per above vote, the sum of $400. 

This building was used by the Baptist Church until 1873, 
when it was sold to the St. Mary's Catholic Church, removed 
to Dell Avenue, used by that Society until the new church was 
built on Herbert Street, since which time it has been kncnvn as 
Lyceum Hall. 

The present brick church was erected in 1874, being dedi- 
cated with appropriate ceremonies Noxember 17, of that year. 
It cost $20,000. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 163 

The list of pastors, and length of pastorates, is as follows: 

Rev. Thorndike C. Jameson, from 1856 to 1858. 

Rev. James Cooper, from 1858 to 1862. 

Rev. Lewis Colby, from 1862 to 1864. 

Rev. William S. Barnes, from 1864 to 1868. 

Rev. James J. Peck, from 1869 to 1871. 

Rev. Almond Barrclle, from 1871 to 1875. 

Rev. Napoleon B. Thompson, from 1875 to 1876. 

Rev. Robert F. Tolman, from 1878 to 1886. 

Rev. George A. Cleveland, from 1886 to 1893, 

Rev. Joseph K. Wilson, from 1894 to 1898. 

Rev. Augustus E. Scoville, from 1899. 
The recognition services of the present pastor, Mr. Scoville, 
were held Tuesday evening, February 6, 1900, when addresses 
were mnde by Rev. John R. Gow, Prof. Charles R. Brown, 
Rev. Everett D. Burr, and our local pastors. Rev. William W.' 
Hackett, Rev. David M. Lockrow, Rev. Thomas Sims, D. D. 
and Rev. Edwin C. Bolles, D. D. 

The present membership of the Church is 450. Since its 
organization there have been 961 persons connected with the 
Church. The present deacons are Charles C. Barry, John E 
Marshall, William H. Flanders, William S. Allen and Addison 
Lane; clerk, William A. Jepson; treasurer, Thomas D. Lock- 
wood; collectors, J. Walter Newhall and Roy D. Stafford. 

The affiliated societies are the Social Circle, Baptist Young 
People's Union, Junior Baptist Young People's Union and the 
Woman's Missionary Society. The Sunday School was organ- 
ized forty-six years ago, in 1856. Its list' of superintendents 
follows: 

Caleb Howard, 1856. Rev. James J. Peck, 1869. 

Guy Lamkin, 1856-62. Moses Briggs, 1870-73. 

F. W. A. Rankin, Jr., 1862-64. George M. M'Coy, 1873-78. 

S. M. Tourtellot, 1864-66. Charles C. Barrv^ 1878-99; 

William F.Paul, 1867. ( twentv-one years.) 

William N. Tyler, 1868. Carl B. Smith, 1899. 

The present membership of the School is 480. In the near 
future this Church intends building a new church building, and 
it now has a fund on hand for that purpose amountm'.r to 
$10,000. "^ 

The p-ELLS Baptist Church. Soon after the Boston Rub- 
ber Shoe Company's works were established, at the Fells 



164 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Village, in 1882, where there then existed quite a population, 
members of the First Baptist Church began mission work in 
that district. A Sunday School was organized, and weekly 
religious services were held in a hall at the corner of Main 
Street and Goodyear Avenue, the propert}' of the Boston 
Rubber Shoe Compan\', and which was built soon after the 
works were established, and has always been placed at the 
disposal of this religious movement, free of all charge. In this 
hall, also, the Converse School was kept, before the building 
of the Fells District school-house — the Converse School — ■ 
on Washington Street. 

The Fells Baptist Church was organized Januuary 25, 1889, 
with twenty-six members. The first pastor was Rev. William 
W. Hackett, who had officiated at the religious services for 
some time previous to the organization of the Church, and was 
installed February i, 1889. He resigned November 30, 1890, 
and was succeeded February i, 1891, by Re\'. C. D. Swett, 
vyho remained until August 31, 1893. R*^^- George A. Cleve- 
land was the pastor from November 5, 1893, until April 30, 
1894; Rev. Wesley L. Smith, May i, 1894, to May 31, 1897; 
and June i, 1897, Rev. Mr. Hackett again became the pastor, 
and remained until April 30, 1900, when he was succeeded by 
Re\-. D. C. Easton, who was installed June 2, following. He 
remained until May, 190 1, and was succeeded by Rev. L. A. 
Cooney, who was installed October 6, 1901. The present 
membership of the Church numbers 83; and that of the Sunday 
School, which was formed soon after the Rubber Works were 
built, now numbers forty, with Norman B. Brown, as superin- 
tendent. The officers of the Church are: deacons, Norman B. 
Brown, Edwin White and Edwin B. Marshall; church clerk, 
Walter W. Wortman; treasurer, Lewis S. Munroe. 

The Melrose Highlands Baptist Church. For a num- 
ber of years, the Melrose Highlands has been increasing 
rapidly in population; and in the fall of 1893, i^ ^^"^^s found 
that cjuite a number of members of Baptist Churches were liv- 
ing there. A series of prayer-meetings were first held at the 
different residences, and soon a society was formed, and regu- 
lar services held in Rogers' Hall, on Franklin Street. The 
first sermon was preached October 22, b}' Rev. George A. 
Cleveland, of the First Baptist Church. Different pastors 
supplied the pulpit until March. 1894, when Re\'. Bowley 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



105 



Green was invited to become their pastor, and the Church was 
organized April 12, with thirteen members. Mr. Green was 
ordained November 21, 1894, but in the following April ten- 
dered his resignation, and accepted a call to the Worthen 
Street Baptist Church, Lowell. After two months a call was 
extended to Rev. Byron U. Hatfield of Georgetown, which 
was accepted; and he was installed August 2, 1895. During 
his pastorate the church edifice, on the corner of Day and 
Franklin Streets, was built and dedicated December 29, of 
that same year. It cost $9,000. In Januar\-, 1896, Mr. Hat- 




MKLROSE HIGHLANDS BAPTIST CHURCH. 

field resigned, and in March a call was extended to Rev. C. E. 
Tullar, of Watertown. who accepted. He continued his work 
until April, 1898, when he resigned. The present pastor, Re\-. 
David M. Lockrow, was installed November 3, 1898. The 
membership of the Church now numbers seventy-five; of the 
Sunday School 183, and Abner M.Saunders is its superintend- 
ent. The young people's society connected with the Church, 
is called the Baptist Young People's Union. 

Several memorial windows were placed in this church when 
it was built. Through the efforts of D. Evans Caswell, of the 
"Humanitarian Chaj)el," situated nc-arl\- ojjposite the church, 



166 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

on Franklin Street, a handsome American Flag Window, orna- 
ments its eastern or chancel end. This is in memory of 
those soldiers who gave their lives for their country.'' A 
Grand Patriotic Concert was given in the hall of the Highland 
Club House, Wednesday evening, December 4, 1895, by which 
the necessary funds were raised, not only for this window, but 
for two others; one called the Queen Esther Window, in honor 
of the mothers, wives and daughters who gave their sons, hus- 
bands and brothers to their country; the other a Peace 
Window, placed in the vestibule, in honor of the sons and 
daughters of veterans of the service. Still another handsome 
window, containing a representation of Ruth, was presented by 
Dexter Pratt, as a memorial of his daughter, who died a few 
years ago. 

Present officers: treasurer, John N. Underwood; clerk, Mrs. 
S. A. Pierce; collector, C. M. Huxford; deacons, Henry A. 
Jones, John A. McLean, Abner M. Saunders and Edwin T. 
Cone. 

The First Free Baptist Church. During the year i893> 
when there was but one church building in the Melrose High- 
lands, "a few earnest Christian people decided, after much 
prayer, to undertake a new work for God, and in the interest 
of the many unchurched and unsaved in the town." For 
nearly a year services were held in the old school-house on 
Franklin Street, as a mission. On January i, 1894, Rev. George 
N. Howard became pastor, but the Church was not fully 
organized until P'ebruary 5, of that year, when it was duly 
incorporated with thirt}'-five charter members. 

Not long after this steps were taken toward the building of 
a church edifice. Land was purchased on the corner of Green 
and Farwell Streets, and the corner-stone of a building, of 
which Mr. Howard was the architect, was laid October 16, 
1894, with appropriate ceremonies. Its plan is a unique one 

^ Until the preseut year, 1902, Rebellion 0/1861-65. Ou August 2, 

Melrose had neither soldiers' mon- 1902, a soldiers' monument which 

ument, tablet, or memorial hall. had been erected on the soldiers' 

The only recognition the services lot in Wyoming Cemetery was 

of the " Boys in Blue," other than dedicated. Further details are 

this memorial window, had received given in the chapter, "Military Or- 

was the volume published in 1868, ganizations," and in the account of 

entitled: The Melrose Memorial: " Old Home Week." 
The Annals of Melrose in the Great 



ECCLESIA S TIC A L HIS TOR Y. 



167 



On the same floor with the auch'torium, which with the two 
galleries accommodates an audience of over four hundred, is a 
lecture room seating- one hundred persons, a fully etjuipped 
kindergarten room and a parlor. 

The building was sufiticienth' adwanced to allow of its occu- 
pancN^ b\- the parish April 7, 1895. During a portion of the 
previous time, from December to Aprd, services were held in 
Eastman's Hall, on Main Street. The edifice was not wholly 
completed until January 8, 1899, ^^ which time dedication ex- 
ercises took place, with an historical address by the pastor, 




MHLKOSK HIGHLANDS FIRST FREE B.\PTIST CHURCH. 

Rev. George N. Howard; a sermon by Rev. A. W. Anthony. 
of Lewiston, Maine, and other addresses. 

Rev. Mr. Howard resigned February 14, 1902. 

The present officers are: Levi \V. Gilman, deacon; George 
C. Mower, clerk; Levi W. Gilman, treasurer. 

The church contains several handsome memorial wintlows: 
One, "The Baptism of Christ, by John in the Jordan," in 
memory of Charles Dana and George Henry Lincoln; another, 
"The Sower," m memor\- of the fathers of Mr. and Mrs. Le\i 
VV. Gilman. In the gallerx', one from "The Stammerer's 
Friend;" and back of the altar, "Christ in Gethsemane. ' 



168 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The total cost of land and edifice was $20,000. The Church 
has now a membership of one hundred and twenty-five. The 
Sunday School has one hundred members and the superin- 
tendent is John T. Hill. It has a library of four hundred vol- 
umes. The affiliated societies are The Young Men's League, 
Ladies' Aid Society, Faithful Workers, A. C. F. Society Senior, 
and the A. C. F. Society Junior. 

The First Universalist Church. The first preaching of 
the doctrine of Universalism on the territory now Melrose, 
was introduced in the manner described by the late Artemas 
Barrett, in an article written for the Melrose yoiirnal, as follows: 

At the commencement of the war with England in 1S12. a very 
bitter feeling existed between the two political parties known as the 
" Federalists " and " Republicans." While this feeling was at a high 
pitch, the Rev. Mr. Osgood, of one of the neighboring towns, made an 
exchange with the pastor of the Church at Maiden, Rev. Aaron Green. 
Mr. Osgood preached a sermon strongly tinctured with Federalism, 
denouncing the Republicans as "war-hawkers," and calling them 
other hard names. After the service the Federalists were in high glee 
over the sermon. But this part of the town was Republican, almost 
to a man, and the sermon therefore caused offense. This rupture 
caused the Universalists (also the Methodists) to hold occasional ser- 
vices of their own here in a small, unpainted school-house on Lebanon 
Street, and the ministers they had were the Revs. Joshua Flagg, 
Edward Turner and Hosea Ballou. 

A very important place in the early histor}^ of Melrose, was 
occupied by this little unpretentious, unpainted building; util- 
ized as it was, not only for all the school purposes of the 
inhabitants of the " North End," but for religious meetings 
by x'arious denominations, and, possibly, for other occasions. 
Some are now living who, not only went to school in this build- 
ing, but also attended church therein. Small as it was, it was 
the only public building standing on the territory. After the 
new school-house was built on Upham Street, in 1828, occa- 
sional services were held there ; also in Academy Hall, then 
standing on Berwick Street. Among the preachers at this 
time were Revs. Syh'anus Cobb, Thomas Whittemore, Lemuel 
Willis, Henry Jewell, E. H. Locke, Hosea Ballou and John G. 
Adams, then settled at Maiden Centre." 

"'' The following incident is told Pratt, when the Maiden Centre 
of one of our former citizens, John Church, after a bitter struggle, 
Pratt, father of the late Charles passed, l)y action of the courts, 



ECCLESIA S TIC A L HIS TOR Y. 



169 



In this manner, with these occasional ser\'ices, a number of 
years passed before any permanent organization took place, 
which occurred February lo, 1849. The first minister was 
Rew Josiah VV. Talbot, who began his labors, as pastor, March 
18, 1849. April 8, 1849, the constitution was adopted, one 
article of which declared that "this societ}' shall i^e called the 
First Universalist Society in Melrose." December 30, 1856, 
the society adopted a new constitution in accordance with the 
laws of the State, bearing the following signatures: Artemas 
Barrett, James Barrett, Joseph H. Green, Josiah W. Talbot, 
Benjamin B. Day, Thomas B. Woodward, Henry Sprague, 
James M. Thresher, Franklin Taylor, William L}-nde, Kitridge 
Avery, George B. Talbot, Augustus Barrett, Thomas C. Board- 
man, Martin Ellis, John H. Green, Elbridge Green, Abel 
Willis, George L}'nde, Anthon}' Crosby, James D. Littlefield, 
John Crocker, H. G. Tucker, Lorin L. Fuller, David Fairbanks, 
Moses Eastman, Francis D. Howe, Henr}' A. Norris, Charles 
H. Isburgh, Walter R. Collins, Joseph D. Wilde, Walter Babb, 
George M. Morse, Jonathan Barrett, Benjamin F. Jones, 
Thomas J. Kimball and B. Franklin Green. 

By the untiring energ}' and perse\'erance of Mr. Talbot a 
church building was erected on Essex Street, and dedicated 
January I, 1852, with sermon by Rev. Alonzo A. Miner. Revs. 
John G. Adams, Otis A. Skinner and Hosea Ballou, also took 
part in the exercises. Mr. Talbot bought the land for the 
church site with his own money, deeding it to the societ}' 
Februar)' 9, 1852, soon after the church edifice was finished. 
He drew the plans, bought the material, superintended the 
construction, and was largely instrumental in raising money 
for the same. In the terrible gale of April 16, 1 85 1, when 
Minot's Ledge Lighthouse was destroyed, the })artly finished 
spire was blown over. 

Mr. Talbot was acti\-e also in town affairs, serving as one of 

from the jurisdiction of the Ortho- 
dox to the Uuiversalists, and the 
former withdrew and built another 
church edifice: "One of the most 



wealthy and prominent citizens of 
Maiden at this time was a Univer- 
salist, and he had in his employ a 
negro, who attended these meet- 
ings. At the final meeting, as they 
were leaving the old church, some 



one told Mr. John Pratt, an eccen- 
tric and sturdy old Orthodox, living 
in this part of the town, that this 
negro voted with the Universalists. 
In his indignation he stepped into 
the street facing the church, took 
off his hat, and made a very low 
bow, saj'ing, "Good-bye, old meet- 
inghouse! The niggers have got 
vou." 



170 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



the financial committee during the first year of its incorpora- 
tion, and on the school committee for the year 185 1. 

Mr. Talbot resigned the pastorate November 13, 1853, and 
was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Cooledge, who served one year on 
the school committee and who remained until 1856. when the 
Rev. Joseph S. Dennis was called, and he was installed as his 
successor April i, 1856. During his pastorate the church edi- 
fice was enlarged by the addition of sixteen pews, a new organ 
purchased, and an additional piece of land bought on the east 
side of the lot. Mr. Dennis served on the school committee 
for the year 1857. He resigned in July, 1858, and was suc- 




-iaBr"iiii4ii'iTi;iiVi;i;i;;i;,;; " -^ -y -|- 



FIRST UNIVKRSALIST CHURCH. 

ceeded in the No\'ember following by the Rev. Benjamin Y. 
Bowles, who remained only until the end of the year 1859. 
His successor, Re\'. George H. Deere commenced his labors 
September, i860, continuing until 1S62, when he was succeeded 
by Rev. George W. Quimby, who remained two years. From 
April I, 1864, to March 20, 1865, the pulpit was supplied by 
seventeen different clergymen. The Rev. Selden Gilbert then 
received a call and entered upon his duties, remaining until 
1866. The following three years, to 1869, the pulpit was 
supplied by Rev. B. H. Davis, and September i, of that year 
the Rev. John N. Emery received a call which he accepted. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 171 

During his ministry the existing mortgage of $2,500 was paid 
off and the Church was free from debt. During a thunder 
storm in June, 1870, the church was struck by lightning, setting 
the top of the steeple on fire, and doing other damage. 
Mr. Emery resigned September i, 1872, and was succeeded 
December 13 of the same year, by Re\'. James E. Bruce. He 
closed his connection with the Church July i, 1875, ^^^ No- 
vember 15, 1875, Rev. William A. Start received a call, and was 
installed March 6, 1876. He resigned in December, 1877, and 
was succeeded by Rev. Charles A. Skinner in September, 1878. 
During his ministry stained glass windows were put into the 
church, and other improvements made. Mr. Skinner resigned 
May I, 1881, and was succeeded by Rev. Richard Eddy, D. D. 
Under the pastorate of Dr. Eddy, the society prospered to 
such a degree that a new edifice, costing $16,138.68 was built 
on the site of the old one.' Had the church been built on any 
other site than this, the land would have reverted to the heirs 
of Mr. Talbot, the donor, that being one of the conditions of 
his gift. The new church was dedicated March 24, 1889, with 
a sermon by the pastor, and an address to the people by 
Rev. A. A. Miner, D. D., in the afternoon, and a sermon in the 
evening by Dr. Miner, who preached the dedication sermon 
of 1852. 

For the dedication of the first edifice in 1852, the then 
pastor, Rev. Mr. Talbot, wrote a h\^mn, of which the following 
is a stanza: 

And may this earthly temple 

Our humble souls prepare, 
To praise Thee in thy heavenly, 

And all its glories share. 
Then shall Thy ransomed children 

Assemble round Thy throne, 
When all shall be immortal, 

And know as they are known. 

Mr. Talbot was present and read the hymn then written, at 
the dedication of the new church. 

A fine organ was presented to the Church by Hon. Daniel 
Russell, and a beautiful memorial window was given by Joseph 
C. Crocker, a former resident, and one of the soldiers who 
served on the quota of Melrose during the great rebellion, in 
memory of his parents. 

' The old church was sold to west side of Essex Street, and be- 
M. Frank Eastman, removed to the came our present Franklin Hall. 



172 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

After a successful ministry of eight years, Dr. Eddy re- 
signed, July 6, 1889, and was succeeded by Rev. Julian S. 
Cutler, who was installed the following November. Mr. Cut- 
ler also remained eight years, when he resigned to accept a 
call to Orange, Mass. The Church remained without a pastor 
but a short time. Rev. Edwun C. Bolles, D. D., who has held 
pastorates in Portland, Salem and New York City, received a 
call which he accepted. He was installed January 4, 1898. 
Mr. Bolles remained until January i, 1902, when he resigned 
to devote his whole time as professor of history in Tufts 
College. He was succeeded April 22, 1902, by Rev. Andrew 
J. Torsleff, the present pastor. On the loth of February 1899, 
the Church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its organiza- 
tion, on which occasion a banquet was gi\-en in the vestry, and 
addresses were made by the pastor, two past pastors, Revs. 
Charles A. Skinner and Julian S. Cutler, Mrs. Mary A. Liver- 
more, Rev. Thomas Sims, D. D., pastor of the Congregational 
Church, Rev. Henry A. Westall, pastor of the Liberal Christian 
Union Church, at the Highlands, and an historical address b)' 
Sidney H. Buttrick. The only one of the original members 
present was Abel Willis, who was also a member of the choir, 
and who took part in the musical exercises of this occa- 
sion. Mr. Willis died March 23, 1902, aged 85. The present 
number of members of the Church is fift}'. The Sabbath 
School numbers one hundred and fifty members. The follow- 
ing persons ha\e served as superintendent: Da\'id Fairbanks, 
Charles H. Isburgh, (who ser\-ed over thirty years,) Joseph D. 
Wilde, Robert J. Chute, Walter Babb, Cummings L. Lothrop 
and Sidne)' H. Buttrick, the present incumbent. The affiliated 
societies of the Church are the Russell Club, Young People's 
Christian Union, the Ladies' Social Circle, and Junior Christian 
Union. 

The Trinity P^piscop.al Church. This is the fifth Church 
organized in IVlelrose. Beginning April 13, 1856, five services 
were held by Rev. William H. Munroe, in the parlors of Mrs. 
Samuel Rice, on Lake A\'enue. Following those, one or more 
public services were held in the Congregational church, at 
five o'clock in the afternoon, Rev. Mr, Munroe, who became 
the first rector, officiating. From the Orthodox church the 
society went to Lyceum Hall, Main .Street, where the Sunday 
School was established and services hold. From there to 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 173 

the hall in Waverly Block, Essex Street. The Church was or- 
ganized May 20, 1857, at the house of Charles P. Gordon, on 
Linden Place. During I\Ir. Munroe's pastorate, a church 
edifice was built on West Emerson Street, which was dedicated 
March 25, i860. It was consecrated June 13, 1866 by the Rt. 
Rev. Manton Eastburn, D. D., Bishop of Massachusetts, being 
then free of debt. Mr. Munroe resigned in 1862, going first to 
Philadelphia, and afterwards became rector of the famous 
"Christ Church." Salem Street, Boston, dying a few years 
since. While here he served on the school committee for the 
years 1857, 1858 and 1859. He was also instrumental in organ- 
izing the first Young Men's Christian Association of Melrose, 
in 1858, being its president. 

Mr. Munroe's successor was Rev. John B. Richmond, who 
remained until Jul>', 1868. During his pastorate, in July, 1866, 
the church was entered by burglars, and the carpets stolen. 
Mr. Richmond served on the school committee for the years 
1864 and 1865. Rev. Robert Ritchie succeeded to the rector- 
ship remaining only one year. June 13, 1870, Rev. Charles 
Wingate was chosen rector, remaining until 1876. During this 
time he was absent a year in Europe, arid Rev. Samuel P. 
Parker, D. D., had charge of the parish. During the 3'ear 
1875, the church was again entered by burglars, and the hand- 
some communion ser\-ice, gn-en by Oliver L. Briggs, in i860, 
was stolen. 

Rev. Henry A. Metcalf was chosen rector April 27, 1876, 
and he remained until 1880. During his pastorate a new organ 
was placed in the church. 

Mr. Metcalf was succeeded by Rev. Charles L. Short, who 
was installed December 21, 1880, and who remained until May 
21, 1888. During his ministry a chapel was built, adjoining 
the church, in 1885, at a cost of S3,000, and a little later a 
beautiful new stone church was erected to take the place of 
the old one, which was consecrated June 21, 1887, the history 
of which is told in the following letter: 

Melrose, M-ass., Dec. 28, 1885. 
To the Corporation, Trinity Parish, Melrose : 

I have been requested by the heirs of the late Miss Catherine L. 
Tyer to communicate to you the following: No legal will has been 
found among her papers, but instead thereof, an expression of her 
wishes written June 6, 1884, requesting that certain amounts of money 
be given to parties specified, in the event of her decease. The pro- 



174 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



perty will be settled by an Administrator, and divided according to 
law. At a meeting of the legal heirs: Horace H. Tyer, Elizabeth 
Saver}-, Mary T. Fiske, Frances A. Flint and Laura B. Thomas, held 
in Melrose on the 28th day of November, it was unanimously voted 
that the requests contained in the papers found be complied with in 
full. The seventh article reads as follows: I desire that 510,000 be 
given to Trinity Parish, Melrose, Mass. The sentence following 
prescribed that " the gift to said church or parish be disposed of by 
the pastor, wardens and vestry, as they shall decide, will be for the 
best good of said Parish." It was known to some members of the 




TRIXITV KPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

family that the late Miss Tyer intended, if she lived, to within a few 
years erect in Melrose a church as a memorial to her father, mother 
and brother, if acceptable to your parish. In consideration of this 
intention, the members of the family propose, if acceptable to you, to 
carry out her wishes as a memorial to her as well, on the following 
conditions: First, the amount donated by her ($10,000) to be devoted 
to that purpose. Second : the Parish to erect, within a reasonable 
time, a stone edifice complete in every part, including furnishing and 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 175 

all that is necessary to provide a suitable church building, according 
to plans furnished by, or acceptable to the legal heirs ; the whole cost 
and expenses, including additional land necessary, to be paid by them, 
providing that the same does not exceed the sum of $20,000. That is 
to say, the members of the family will provide s; 10,000 in addition to 
the 510,000 mentioned in the tirst article. Third: A suitable tablet to 
be placed in the church to denote that it is erected as a memorial to 
Henry George Tver, Elizabeth Tver, and Catherine Louisa Tver. 
Fourth: Such memorials as are now incorporated in the present church 
building, or used therein, to be used in the proposed structure as 
deemed best. 

The foregoing is respectfully submitted for your consideration. 

Your obedient servant, 

F. W. Thomas. 

This generous gift was accepted with heartfelt acknowledge- 
ments to the donors. After the plans and estimates had been 
made, it was found that the cost would exceed the $20,000. 
The heirs at once authorized the committee, Rev. Charles L. 
Short, Royal P. Barry. William H. Allen, \V. Irving Ellis, and 
Frederick W. Thomas, to proceed and they would make up the 
deficiency. The church was built. The total cost of the edi- 
fice and 15,000 feet of extra land was $28,467.40. An appro- 
priate memorial brass tablet was placed in the west wall of the 
church. The Perkins memorial window which was placed in 
the old church Juh- 3, 1884, was replaced in the new. Its in- 
scription is: "To the Glor}- of God and in memory of Horatio 
Nelson Perkins." 

The widow of Samuel Rice gave the new church a baptis- 
mal font, on which is the following inscription: "To the 
Glory of God and in memory of Samuel Rice, one of the 
trustees and first warden of the Church. Born Januar\- 30, 
1814, died April 18. 1885. The pure in heart shall see God."' 
The altar is a memorial gift from Mr. and Mrs. P. Morton 
DeWolfe, and bears this inscription: "In Memoriam. Louisa 
Margaret DeWolfe. Born November 5. 1879; entered into 
rest, August 23, 1884." 

Through" the kind efforts of the late William L. Williams, 
the church received a unique gift; a carved stone from the 
ruins of the celebrated Abbey of Melrose, Scotland. It is 
placed under the support of one of the trusses on the south- 
erly side of the church. The tablet is inscribed as follows: 
"The above carved stone once formed a part of the Abbey 



176 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 




Church of St. Mary, Melrose, Scotland, built about A. D.- 
1400. It was obtained through the kind offices of Alexander 

T. Simons, Esq., Gildon Grove, Mel- 

rose, and the Rev. James C. Herdman, 
Melrose, and presented to William L. 
Williams of this town, and by him to 
Trinity Parish, A. D. 1886." 

Rev. Mr. Short was succeeded in the 
rectorship by Rew Charles H. Sey- 
mour, S. T. D., who was elected to that 
position September 12, 1888, and who 
remained till April 13, 1891. The pres- 
ent rector, Re\', Paul Sterling, began 
his pastorate September 15, 1891. 

Present number of communicants four 
hundred and thirty-one. The Sunday 
School has one hundred and fifty-four 
members. The affiliated societies are 
St. Margaret's Chapter, St. Agnes Guild, 
Dorcas Chapter and the Young Men's 
Guild. 

The present officers of the Church 
are: wardens, Royal P. Barry and Henry A. Bush; treasurer, 
Henry F. Grout; clerk, Samuel .S. Preble, Jr. 

The Unitarian .ConCiRegational Society. The first per- 
manent movement for the establishment of a Unitarian Church 
in Melrose, was made November 18, 1866, when services were 
begun in Concert Hall, on Main Street, near the corner of 
Essex Street, by Rev. William P. Tilden, under the auspices of 
the American Unitarian Association. Soon after, in July, 1867, 
the Unitarian Congregational Society was organized. Previous 
to this, as early as 1848, a short time after the Boston and 
Maine railroad was opened through Melrose, services were 
held for several months in the old Academy Hall, on Berwick 
Street, by the Rev. F. W. Holland, under the auspices of the 
American Unitarian Association. The new Society met in 
Concert Hall, where it continued to hold services for a number 
of years, ha\ing for pastors, besides Mr. Tilden, Revs. John D. 
Wells, John A. Buckingham, William .Silsbee and William S. 
Barnes, who had left the Baptist denomination, and the pas- 



THE MELROSE ABBEY 
STONE. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 177 

torate of the First Baptist Church, to become pastor of this 
Church. He was installed July 30, 1868, but remained only a 
few months, resic^ning January 5, 1869. During- his ministra- 
tion the name was changed to the Liberal Christian Congrega- 
tional Society, but the old name was resumed in July, 1870. 
Rev. A. S. Nickerson was installed as pastor July 7, 1869, with 
the installing sermon by Rev. Warren H. Cudworth. Mr. 
Nickerson resigned June i, 1870. 

At this time, while without a settled minister, a new church 
building was erected on the corner of Myrtle and West Emer- 
son Streets, largely through the efforts of the late Frederic 
Kidder, and Thomas B. Peck, now of Walpole, N. H. In 
addition to subscriptions made bv the members, donations 
were made by the American Unitarian Association, the South 
Middlesex Conference and by the Boston churches. It was 
dedicated May i, 1872, with sermon by Rev. Andrew P. 
Peabody, D. D., of Cambridge. Services had been continued 
meanwhile, by the friendly offices of a number of pastors; 
among them Revs. J. B. Green, H. H. Barber, H. C. DeLong 
and Richard Metcalf. Other neighboring ministers and theo- 
logical students at Harvard University also officiated from 
time to time. During this interregnum, on one intensely 
stormy Sunday, when the committee had deemed it unwise to 
send for Mr. Barber, then of Somerville, the congregation was 
surprised to see him enter Concert Hall, where they then wor- 
shiped ; and still more so, when they learned that he had 
walked all the way from Somerville in the storm, having failed 
to make connection with the horse-cars. 

This Societ)' instituted a course of lectures at this time from 
which financial aid was derived for their enterprise. Among 
the speakers were Rev. William H. H. Murray and Prof. }. 
Wesley Churchill. This course was the immediate prede- 
cessor of the Melrose Lyceum which had a successful life of 
twenty-one years. The Society was also aided by a very suc- 
cessful fair given at this time under the auspices of the ladies 
of the Society. 

The first minister to be settled in the new church was 
Rev. Daniel M. Wilson, who had just graduated from the 
Harvard Divinity School. He was called October 24, and 
installed November 15, 1872. Sermon by Rev. Rufus Ellis, 
D. D., and an address to the people by Rev. A. P. Peabody, 



178 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

D. D. Mr. Wilson resigned March i, 1876, and was succeeded 
September i, 1876, by Rev. Nathaniel Seaver, Jr., who remained 
five years, and October 29, 1881, was succeeded by Rev. Henry 
Westcott, who was settled over this Parish in conjunction with 
the newly formed one in Maiden, October 29, 1881, conducting 
services in Melrose in the morning, and at Maiden in the 
evening. Mr. Westcott died July 14, 1883, much lamented. 
A handsome memorial volume was published soon after his 
death, containing a number of his sermons, and an appreciative 
memoir by John Oscar Norris, which was first read at a meet- 
ing of the " Roundabout Club." The volume also contained 
poems, "At Rest," by Henry H. Clark, and "In Memoriam," 
by Mary A. Livermore. 

The Rev. John H. Heywood, D. D., who had been forty 
years a pastor in Louisville, Ky., was called by the Church in 
April, 1884, and was installed May 6. He was welcomed at 
the morning service by John O. Norris, in behalf of the Parish, 
and in the afternoon by addresses from Rev. Andrew P. 
Peabody, D. D., Rev. H. H. Barber, Rev. Richard Eddy, D. D., 
then pastor of the Uni\-ersalist Church, and Mrs. Mary A. 
Livermore. During Mr. Heywood's ministry the mortgage, 
which had rested on the church from its dedication, was paid 
off. Mr. Heywood remained until September i, 1889, when 
he resigned and returned to his old home in Louisville. When 
his successor. Rev. Joseph H. Weeks, was installed, February 
I, 1890, with sermon b}- Rev. Minot J. Savage, and address to 
the people by Rev. Henry C. DeLong, Mr. Heywood wrote his 
former Parish a letter full of good wishes and pleasant remem- 
brances. Among other things he said: 

It is now almost fifty years since I first came to Louisville and 
entered upon the active work of the Christian ministry. They ha\e 
been j-ears of very varied experience. I have seen life in its mani- 
fold phases of peace and war, of joy and sorrow, of blight and bloom, 
but as I look back upon the half ccntur}-. which has proved so event- 
ful to our country and the world, and compare the past with the pres- 
ent, 1 find myself no less an optimist now than I was in the buoyant 
season of }-outh and early manhood. I rejoice with grateful joy at the 
advance made all along the line — the deepened and quickened 
thought, the larger hope, the more fixing failh and the warmer, more 
generous love. Never much of a sectarian and becoming less and 
less so all the while, with fuller appreciation of all earnest, humane 
work, with heartier " God speed " for everyone, whatever, wherever, 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



179 



whoever he may be, who is seeking- and hil)oi-in<r in the spirit of Jesus 
to do good service to God and man, in making or in trying to make, 
life purer, sweeter, brighter, better, happier, for all. Thus thinking! 
thus feeling, I can say this from the depths of my soul and with the 
emphasis of firmest conviction, that never have I felt warmer grati- 
tude than in the 72nd year of my life, for the gracious influence of the 
Divine Mind and Spirit— sweet as the air from the spice-islands of the 
blessed — which have led me and are leading true-hearted men and 
women in all communions, to the larger, profounder and more loving 
conception and inteipretation of Christianity, by which are brought 
into ever bolder relief, the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood^of 
Man, the unbroken Continuit}- of life, the ultimate redemption of all 




UXITARIAX CONGREGATIONAL CHrkCII. 

souls from ignorance, error, selfishness and sin, and their constant pro- 
gression in truth, knowledge, righteousness, and benificent activity 
through the eternal ages — the grand conception and inspiring inter- 
pretation which make religion to the followers of Jesus what it was to 
him, " the life of V.od in the soul of man." and to which the religion of 
Christ " is not so much a theory to be explained as a life to be copied." 

The Societ>- now lU'i'dcd more room, .uul during 1891, under 
the auspices of the Ladies' Aid Socict>-, an cnlaroement was 
completed b\' the erection of an adjoinino- buiklino-, nearl\- re- 
sembling the orio-inal church, containing .Suntlay School room, 
a ladies' parlor, supper room and kitchen, costing $5,000. 

Mr. Weeks resigned December 15, 1891, and was succeeded 
by Rev. Thomas W. l^rown. who was installed June i, 1S92. 



180 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

After a useful and successful pastorate of six years, Mr. 
Brown resigned June i, 1898; he still remains a resident of 
Melrose. 

After the resignation of Mr. Brown, the Parish remained 
without a regularly settled minister until November 5, 1899, 
when the present pastor. Rev. Thomas Jay Horner, commenced 
his ministerial duties in accordance with a request made by the 
Society. There are two hundred and twenty-five church ad- 
herents. 

The Sunday School connected with this Parish has had 
among its superintendents, Rev. William S. Barnes, Rev. 
Hobart Clark, George H. Dearborn, 1870 to 1880, John O. 
Norris, 1880 to 1890, George E. Munroe, the late Capt. John C. 
Maker, Harlan E. Glazier and at present, George L. Davis. 
The School has a membership of one hundred and twenty-five. 

The affiliated societies are the Young People's Religious 
Union, the Ladies' Aid Society and the Unity Club. 

The late William F. Conant, who died in December 1897, 
was the parish treasurer for a period of thirty )'ears. His son- 
in-law, the late Dexter F. Munroe, was parish clerk for many 
years. 

The Liberal Christian Union Church. This Church was 
organized in 1895. Preaching services were held at first in the 
hall of the Highland Club House, and afterward in Rogers' 
Hall. Until 1896, the pulpit was supplied by many different 
pastors; then the Rev. Henry A. Westall was settled over the 
Society. The congregation was a small one, and after an ex- 
istence of four or five years, during which it received aid from 
the American Unitarian Society, of $250 annually, the Society 
disbanded. 

Saint Mary of the Annunciation Church. The names 
of the first Catholic families li\ing in North Maiden, were 
Conway, Kelley and Doherty. A few others came about the 
time the Boston and Maine Railroad was built in 1845. From 
185 1 to 1854, the Melrose Catholics attended mass at the 
Wakefield church. In the latter year, Melrose was made a 
part of the newly established parish of the Immaculate Con- 
ception, on Pleasant Street, Maiden, near the Medford line. 
For nearly twenty years, the Melrose Catholics worshiped 
with the Maiden parish, during which time the first mass in 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 181 

Melrose was celebrated on Christmas day 1868, by Rev. Thomas 
Gleason, of Maiden, in Masonic Hall, corner of Main Street 
and Wyoming Avenue. 

In 1873, Melrose was attached as a mission to the Stoneham 
parish, under the pastorate of Father William H. Fitzpatrick. 
After a few years, the number of Catholics had increased in 
numbers sufficient to warrant the establishing of a new parish 
in Melrose, which was done and placed under the charge of 
Father Fitzpatrick, in conjunction with his Stoneham duties. 
When the First Baptist Society erected its present brick 
chapel, in 1874, the church edifice then standing on its site, at 
the corner of Main and Upham Streets, was sold to the 
Catholics for the sum of $2,200, removed to a lot on Dell Ave- 
nue, costing Si, 000, remodelled and named St. Bridget's Church. 
Previous to its completion several services were held in 
Masonic Hall, Father Fitzpatrick ofificiating. The first service 
in their church was held in October, 1873. Here the Catholics 
worshiped until their present large and handsome edifice was 
erected in 1893-4, on the corner of Herbert and Myrtle Streets. 
The church lot contains an acre of land, having a frontage on 
the three streets, Herbert, Myrtle and Grove. 

The corner-stone of the new church was laid in 1891. Rev. 
Dennis O'Callaghan delivering the sermon. It was dedicated 
in November, 1893, with appropriate exercises, and sermon by 
Rev. John P. Dore of Chicago. The cost of land and edifice 
was $55,000. It was originally intended by Father O'Farrell, 
to build the church of stone, modelling it after the famous 
Melrose Abbey; but it ha\ing been discovered that the sub- 
stratum soil was of such sandy and unsubstantial nature it was 
deemed unwise to build such a hea\y structure as that would 
have been; therefore the plans were changed, and the present 
Romanesque edifice with a rock-faced Lynnficld granite base- 
ment substituted. 

The Melrose mission was raised to parish dignity towards 
the close of the summer of 1894, the name changed from St. 
Bridget to St. Mary, and the Rev. Francis J.Glynn became the 
first resident pastor, and still remains. 

As the parish now numbers about two thousand. Father 
Glynn is aided in his parochial duties by Re\-. Daniel J, 
Carney as assistant, who rccei\ed his appointment January i, 
1897. 



182 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In 1895, the handsome residence of Albert D. Holmes, on 
Myrtle Street, near the church, was purchased for a rectory, 
at a cost of $7,500. 




ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 

After the new church edifice was built, the old one on Dell 
Avenue, was abandoned for religious services, and is now used 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 183 

as a parish hall. Here the Younij Men's Catholic L\'ceum aiul 
other associations meet. 

Previous to the purchase of their first church in 1873, a Sun- 
day School had been organized as early as May i, 1870, by 
James P. Murphy, and its sessions were held in different halls. 
It now has a membership of 425. 

At the time Father Glynn came to the parish the indebted- 
ness on the property had been reduced to $20,000. Some im- 
provements ha\'e since been added costing a number of thous- 
ands of dollars, but under his energetic management, aided by 
a church debt society which he organized, the church will soon 
be free of debt. 

OLD TIME CHURCH GOING. 

Previous to the beginning of the nineteenth centur}', and for 
some years afterwards, the residents of North Maiden had to 
wend their way to " Middletown," either on foot, horseback, or 
by team, on the Sabbath day, to attend public worship, as they 
did also, on election days to vote. Relative to these facts, and 
as a picture of those early days, the following from EcJiocs from 
Mystic Side, is here gi\'en: 

Our sympathies, even at this late day. go out to our North and South 
Maiden iriends, when we think of their hurrying under the rays of a 
hot sun, or plodding through the deep snows, over such a long stretch 
of land, and then to enter a not over-heated room, and seat themselves 
on hard, wooden benches, and listen to a long, and, we imagine, 
rather a doctrinal sermon. Then there was the tithing man, who stood 
watching read}' to reprimand all unruly boys, whispering girls, or 
sleeping parents. At a meeting of the selectmen in 1684, it was agreed 
and ordered, that " all householders or masters of familyes in this 
Towne shall take their turns successively every Lord's day, both be 
low and in the galires." 

On entering the church, the women were expected to pass up one 
flight of stairs, and the men up those on the opposite side, and a rail- 
ing was placed between the galleries in which they sat. A committee 
was always appointed to assign seats to each person in town, and this 
act was called " dignifying the seats." The choice fell to those paying 
the highest rates towards the support of the minister, while dignity, 
age and deafness were considered. 

Under date of 1692 the first grant of separate seats was given, and 
it was voted " that corronal page have liberty to build a pue, and in 
case corronal page leave the seat it shall returne to the towne." Later 



184 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

it was " voted that collonal paige hes liberty to remove his pewe into 
That corner of y^ meeting-hous by y^ little dore." " Voted that deken 
Green and John Greenland are goe and Treat with collonal paige in 
order to y^ Removing of his pew." Other permits were given, from 
time to time, until the seats were alone reserved for the galleries. 

It was also voted, that certain persons were to be allowed a piece of 
land to erect a stable to shelter their horses "on the Sabbath days." 
A space of four feet was given each person, which was ample room, 
since the farmers rode on their farm horses, and were often accompa- 
nied by their wives, seated on pillions behind them. 

Quartette choirs were not in vogue until a much later period, and as 
books were not plentiful, one of the deacons would read two lines of a 
hymn, the congregation would then sing them, when he would read 
two more, and so on to the end. This was called " deaconing the 
hymn." Many of them were not of a particularly cheering nature, 
being written as lessons to ponder over rather than for diversion, and 
were oftentimes made doubly plaintive by being set to minor music. 
We copy a few for the perusal of those who are fond of verse : — 

" Hark ! from the tombs, a doleful souud ; 
Mine ears atteud the cry — 
Ye living men, come, view the ground. 
Where you must shortl}' lie." 

One story, repeated and vouched for by a well-known divine, is, that 
a much-respected pastor over a small society, departed this life, and 
the usual funeral ceremonies were held in the church. The choir 
was invited to assist on this solemn occasion, and being desirous 
to add as much as possible to make the exercises interesting, selected 
and sang the only anthem that they had well practiced together, many 
repetitions of these words occurring : 

"Believing, we rejoice, to see the curse removed." 

Such hymns were sung, and dutifulh- listened to generally, but on 
one occasion, when a verj- just and worthy man was having the last 
selemn rites performed, and the minister selected the hj-mn — 

" See how the aged sinner goes, 
Laden with grief and heavy woes, 
Down to the dwellings of the dead, 
With endless curses on his head ; " 

the choir refused to sing it, and another was chosen. 



CHAPTER VI. 

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 

NORTH Maiden had no school-house of its own until 
about the middle of the eighteenth century. But as 
early as 1691, the town records show that action was 
taken for the education of its children. No doubt it had done 
so earlier, but there is no earlier record than the following: 
" Ezekiel Jenkins continuing to be the Townes Scoule Master." 
In 1693, there is an item equally concise: "John Sprague 
jun! Schoolmaster." August 24, 1699, the record is gi\-en a 
little more in detail : 

John Sprague chose scoolmaster for this present j-eer : or for one 
yeer, it is left to y^ select-men to agree with him what he shall haue for 
his incurigment to keep scool for one yeer. 

In 1702, the town began to provide education for the differ- 
ent parts of the same, as shown b\- the following vote: 

John Sprague Is chose scool-marstar for ye 3-eer insuing To learn 
Children & j-outh to Reed and wright and to Refmetick acording to 
his best Skill. And he is to have ten pounds paid him by y^ town for 
his pains. The scool is to be free for all y^ Inhabitants of this town : 
and to be kept at foure severall places at foure severall times one 
quartar of a j'eer in a place : In such places whar those five men 
shall apoint, namly : Lent Henery Green, Lent John Line. Lemuell 
Jenkins, Tho Okes And Nathaniell Upham : who are chose by y-' town 
for y^ pur|Dose. 

Just where the school was kept in North Maiden it is hard 
to say. But by the record for the next year it would seem 
that the North Maldenites had to travel to the centre of the 
town: 

by a uote Ezeckiel Jenkins is chose scoolmastar for this presant 
yeer: and The Scoole to be Kept at his one hous: he is to haue 3 
pounds for y« yeer : and y^ befitit of y*^ scoUars. 

This means he was to ha\e the benefit of whatever small 



186 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

amounts of money that may have been paid by the scholars 
for any purpose, besides the three pounds. Mr. Jenkins was 
again elected on similar terms in 1704. He died in 1705, and 
was buried in Sandy Bank, or Bell Rock Cemetery. The 
gravestone bears the following epitaph: 

Here Lyes y^ Body of | Ezekiel Jenkins Aged 37 Years | Who Died 
July ye 30'h 1 705 Mauldens | Late School Master From A Painfull | Life 
Is Gone To Take His Rest His ] Lord Hath Calld Hi'" Who^e . 

The next reference in the records to any school privileges 
for the northern part of the town occurs under date of July 12, 
1710, as follows: 

nathaniell waite chose Scoolmaster voted y* y^ Scool shall be Re- 
moued into 3 parts of y^ Town — The first half yeer in y^ center — 
and one quartar in ye southwardly end And one quarter in ye nothardly 
end of ye Town. 

•For some reason Mr. Waite did not serve; and later in 
the year " m'' Samuell wigglesv\orth," son of Rev. Michael 
Wigglesworth, author of The Day of Doom, was engaged for a 
six months' session, with this vote: 

y' ye Schoole shall be kept ye first four months in nV parsons hous 
And then ye School shall be Remoued into sum hous Towards ye north 
end of The Town ye othar Two months. 

Mr. Wigglesworth was engaged for a second term, when it 
was 

Voted Ther shall be sixteen pounds money Rais"^' for To pay ye 
schoolmastar namly nv Wigglesworth, and That ye school shall be kept 
4 months in ye body of ye Town And Two months at ye northwardly 
end of sd town. 

The location and building of a school-house in the early 
times was a source of excitement and contention, as is often 
the case in later years. At a town meeting held May 18, 171 1 : 

Jt was put to vote whether ye Town would buld a Schoolhous and 
set jt on ye Towns land on ye west side of ye way ouer against ye 
wachhous. And ye School to be kept two thirds of ye time y' a School- 
mastar shall be jnproud jn ye s^i Schoole-hous and ye othar third part of 
ye time at ye northerly end of The town : neer or a mong ye Greens jn 
sum priuet Roome And ye hous to be bult at ye charg of ye town and 
also ye charg of priuet Roome : And ye vote past on ye negitiue. 

Six months later, November 20, 171 1, it was voted: 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 187 

That ther be a School-hous bult — Also voted y' y^ Schoolhous shall 
be set between y"^ pound and John Wilsons hous. 

Up to this time schools had been kept in the watch-house 
and in private houses; but in 1712, as per above vote, a build- 
ing- was erected for the purpose, as is seen by the following 
action of the town; this was Maiden's first school building: 

Voted y' y^ scool-hous shall be bult 20 foots jn length 16 foots wide 
6 foot stud between joints. A chimney, nere seven foots between y^ 
gams 

decreased the capacity of the room; and when its spacious 
" harth " was blazing with its pile of green logs the physical 
discomfort of the child who sat on the nearest bench could only 
have been equalled b}- that of the unfortunate shiverer who 
sat by the door. Of course, it was of one story and its walls 
were filled with brick "to y^ plaets," in that good, cold-defy- 
ing fashion which ma)' yet be found in some old houses, and 
which puts to shame the shams of modern construction ^ 

William Green, the "carpender," was to receive thirty-five 
pounds. For the somewhat unique contract for this work, be- 
tween the Selectmen and Mr. Green, see sketch of the Green 
family. January 17, 17H/5 it was voted : 

That ye school shall be moued to John greens house jn ye woods : — 
for two months : which js to be March and April next ensuing the date 
heerof. 

This was the house of the original settler, Thomas Green, at 
the Highlands, west of Main, and north of Franklin Streets. 
The next year it was 

vot : y' The Schoolmastar shall be Removed To y^ northardly end 
of This Town To Keep y^ school ye Remaining part of ye Time agreed 
on for him to be among us. 

Occasional votes in the town records show that schooling 
was pro\ided for the north end of the town a portion of the 
time only. June 17, 1723, Mr. Buckman was engaged to keep 
the school twelve months, at a salary of four pounds. That 
year it was kept five months in the centre, three and a half at 
the south part, and three and a half at "sum conuenant place 
jn The northardly end of maiden." 

For the next twenty years nothing definite is said about 
the schooling for the North End. 

^ Corey. History of Maiden, dx^. 



188 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In 1744, it was voted: 

That the School shall be keept one quarter part of the time yearly- 
near the house of Abraham Skinner and one quarter part of the time 
yearly near the hous of Thomas Burditt Ju"; and another quarter part 
of the time yearly near the hous of John Colman or the house of the 
widow Mercy Pratt provided that perticular persons will be at the 
Charge of erecting a School house at each of those places. 

According to a MS. left by Mr. Barrett, the house of the 
widow Pratt stood where now stands the Lynde mansion, on 
the corner of Grove and Lebanon Streets; and Mr. Colman's 
about forty rods north, on the west side of Lebanon Street, 
which was then the old 1653 road. The school-house stood 
about half way between these places, on the east side, about 
on the corner of Lebanon and Laurel Streets. He had heard 
it described by those who remembered it, "as a small, un- 
painted shanty, with a brick fireplace in one corner. Old Mr. 
John Lynde used to say that Master Swain who taught the 
school there, would frequently, in school hours, send one of 
the scholars to his father's house for a mug of cider." 

During this period, of about a century, the cause of educa- 
tion in Maiden seems to have had a varied experience, as the 
town was several times presented at the Quarter Sessions for 
not maintaining a grammar school; but in 1750, educational 
matters were improved, and Nathaniel Jenkins, Jr., was chosen 
school-master. He retained this office for a period of twenty- 
five years, until he acquired the well-earned title of "good old 
Master Jenkins." His original occupation was that of a shoe- 
maker. But the guardians of the town, who had e\-idently 
been embarrassed for a long time in their endeaxors to procure 
a suitable teacher, thought they discerned in him some of the 
necessary qualifications. After some hesitation, which was re- 
moved in part by the fact that his health was inadequate for 
his mechanical calling, he acquiesced in their proposal. To 
prepare himself for his new \ocation, he, for want of a normal 
school, put himself under the instruction of the Rev. ]\Ir. 
P^merson for about twelve months. Ha\ing b>- this time ob- 
tained some knowledge of the languages, and the approbation 
of several clergymen, he entered with zeal upon his duties as 
an instructor of 3'outh. He is represented as a pious man and 
an excellent teacher, though in his practice the rod was not a 
mere symbol of authority. It had a use, as well as a meaning. 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



189 



This is a view of the very curious and unique little box- 
desk, which belonq^ed to this good school-master, and which 

he carried back and forth 
with him from precinct to 
precinct. As there is a hole 
in the top of the back, he 
evidently hung it upon a nail. 
It probably held his books, 
pen, ink and paper, and possi- 
bly, his useful rod."^ In those 
days he taught school for six 
months in Maiden center, 
three months in the south 
part of the town, now Ever- 
ett, and three months in the 
north part, now Melrose. 
In 1789, Joseph Barrett, of North Maiden, was chairman of 
the School Committee. That }'ear school was kept in the 
little old school-house, four and a half months; the next year 
four months. 




THE JENKINS DESK. 




ou^ci'X' ^uJ^efciiHi 



yu 



In 1799, the town chose a committee, consisting of Joseph 
Barrett, Bernard Green, and Captain Amos Sargent, to draw a 
plan, and estimate the cost of a new school-house for the north 
part of the town. They reported, and the sum of S600 was 
appropriated. Joseph Barrett and William Emerson were the 
committee to build the same. They bought a small piece of 
land, in 1800, of Ezra Howard, on the west side of Lebanon, a 
few rods south of Upham Street, then Upham Lane, and built 
thereon a school-house. It was about twenty by twenty-fi\e 
feet in size, and low studded. It was an unpainted building 
with board blinds for the windows, with a small porch over 
the door on the south side. Artemas Barrett went to school 
in this building; and the manuscript before quoted gives this 
description of the school-house. 

As you entered, there was an open space ; rows of seats, with desks 
in front, on each side of the house with an aisle passing between them 

- This desk now belongs to Mrs. great-great grand daughter of Mr. 
Adeline A. Nichols, of Maiden, a Jenkins. 



190 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



on each side to the wall ; each row would seat about six scholars. A 
large wooden desk stood at the north end of the house with a platform 
raised in its rear where the teacher was seated. There was an open 
space in front of the desk where the boys put their hats. In the middle 
of the house stood a massive stove in which wood was burnt in large 
clefts about two feet in length. It was the practice in those days for 
the scholars to take their turns in building the hres and sweeping out. 
The writer well remembers when his turn came of going as soon as he 
could see, and how he felt when entering that dark room before he 
could open the close board blinds and let in the light. He also 
remembers how long it was before the room could be made even com- 
fortable and how the scholars when they arrived would gather around 
that old stove and remain as long as allowed to. And frequently 
during school hours, the scholars would have to beg the privilege of 
going to the stove in order to get warm. 

About the time this school house was built the town was formed into 
districts, each drawing their proportion of the money raised and man- 
aging their own affairs. It was the practice in those days during the 
summer months to employ a school-marm, as she was called, as only 
the smaller children then attended school. In the winter the boys, and 
some of them quite large, nearly men grown, attended and a master 
was then employed. 







the; old school house;. 



This was before matches had been invented, and these 
scholars then took their turn in buildino- fires, and they had to 
take live coals of fire with them, from their homes. At this 
time Maiden had four school-houses; this one at the North 
End, one where Sprague Street joins Salem Street, one on 
Nelson's Hill at the South End, aiul one on the Lynn road, 
near Maplewood Square. 

In this little old school-house, Robert Gerry, who died in 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



191 



Stoneham, April i, 1873, in his ninetieth year, taught school 
during the winter season for twenty four years, in succession, 
commencing in 1S03. Il<^i't the North Maldenites learned to 
"read, write, and cipher." '1 he boys and girls liv^'ng in the 
west part of the town, came "across lots," passing by the old 
Tainter or Howard house, which stood where the Swett block 
now is, crossing Ell Pond brook on a log. 

Occasionally, when school did not keep here, the scholars, 
some of them, went to "middletown" school, going over the 
old road by the foot of Boston Rock. 

This old school-house was abandoned when the town of 
Maiden built a new one, in 1829, on Upham Street, on land 
conve}'ed to the "North School District," b}' William Dix, for 
S50. It was built b}- the 
school-master Mr. Gerry. 
This was burned about 

the year 1845, '^■'"^1 '^'i" ( 

other one built on its ^ 

site; in it was kept a Primary, Intermediate, and Grammar 
School. Others who taught school in this house, besides Mr. 
Gerry, were Dr. Levi Gould, Nelson Cochran and Rev. John 
C. Ingalls. This house was burned in April, 1874, and was 
succeeded b\' the present Sewall School House, formerly called 
the Centre School House, standing next to the P^irst Baptist 
Church. 

This house that was burned, built by Mr. Gerry in 1829, was 
the only schcjol-house existing at the time Melrose was in- 
corporated, in 1850.'^ Ver)' soon after this others had to be 
built; one on Lynde .Street, one on Green Street, and one on 




■^ Previous to this there had ex- 
isted for a few years, a private in- 
stitution of learning, situated on 
Berwick Street, near the corner of 
Herbert Street. This was known 
as " Academy Hall." It was after- 
wards moved to Main Street, where 
it became Lyceum Hall, was used 
by the Town, and for various other 
purposes; and perished in the fire 
of August 20, 1870. In the Uiiivcr- 
salist Truinpt't, for 185 1, the follow- 
ing advertisement of this institu- 
tion appeared : Melrose Academy. 



The vSpring Term of this Institu- 
tion, situated on the Boston and 
Maine Railroad, seven miles from 
Hay market vSquare, Boston, will 
commence on Monday March 4, 
under the charge of its present 
Teacher, Mr. D. C. Quimby, A. M., 
Principal ; Miss Caroline M. Rip- 
ley, Preceptress; Mr. J. W". Tur- 
ner, Teacher of IMusic. 

The proprietors have permission 
to refer to B. B. Mussey, Esq., Rev. 
S. Slreeler, T. Whittemore, T. 
Starr King, Charles Brooks, Syl- 



192 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Foster Street, opposite the end of Vinton Street, all built in 
1853, costing Si, 600 each; then the small ones on Franklin and 
Upham Streets, in 1855; now all abandoned for newer and better 
ones. That on Foster Street was succeeded by the present D. 
W. Gooch School building, which was built in 1886, costing 
$14,000, remodelled and enlarged in 1892, at a cost of $18,500. 
The committee to build consisted of Moses S. Page, Royal P. 
Barry, Daniel Norton, Joel Snow, and W. Irving Ellis; to 
remodel, John O. Norris, John jC. Maker, William D. Stewart, 
A. Eugene Upham, Decius Beebe, Albert B. Franklin and 
Henry Brown. 

March 30, 1868, the town appropriated $20,000 for a new High 

School building, and Janu- 
ary 14, 1869, and additional 
sum of $7,500, was added. 
The building committee con- 
sisted of Messrs. Rufus Smith, 
Daniel W. Gooch, Charles H. 
Isburgh, Wingate P. Sargent, 
Walter Babb, George New- 
hall and George A. Mansfield. 
The site selected was 30,000 
feet of land situated on Em- 
erson Street, at the corner of 
Lake Avenue, purchased of 
Messrs. David L. & John G. 
Webster. It was finished and 
dedicated July 15, 1869. It was destroyed b>' fire January 25, 
1897. 

By the building of this High School House, the crowded 
condition of the then existing schools was relieved. At this 
time Melrose had seven school-houses, and eighteen teachers. 
As our town was increasing in population very fast, additional 




THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL HOUSE. 



vanus Cobb, Boston. H. Ballou, 
2d, D. D., F. A. Farley, Brooklyn, 
N. Y., H. M. Laue, John G. 
Whittier, Aniesbury, Mass., Daniel 
Osgood, M. D., Mantanzas, Cuba. 

Parents and Guardians may rest 
assured that nothing of a Secta- 
rian nature will be allowed in the 
vSchool, and the morals of all pupils 



will be carefully guarded by the 
teacher. 

Terms: English Branch, includ- 
ing Surveying, Navigation, Book- 
keeping, the Natural Sciences, per 
term, |6.oo; Higher Mathematics, 
per term, 16. 00; Ancient and Mod- 
ern Languages, l^y.oo; Oriental 
Branches, |8.oq. 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 193 

accommodations became necessary. Outside halls and rooms 
were rented for a while. The Centre School House, which was 
burned in 1874, was rebuilt at a cost of Sio.ooo, by a committee 
consisting of George A. Mansfield, \V. Ir\!ng Ellis and John 
O. Norris. 

At this time, 1883, when it was found necessary to build other 
houses, there were twenty-four teachers, besides one elocution- 
ist and one music teacher. 

The Franklin School House, now known as the Whittier 
School, a four room building, was erected in 1884, on Frank- 
lin Street, near Sargent Street, at a cost of $8,200. The com- 
mittee was Joel Snow, Rufus A. White, Thomas W. Ripley, 
Moses S. Page and John VV. Farwell. 

In 1883, a new school-house, now known as the Horace Mann 
School, was built on the corner of Gro\e and M)-rtle Streets, 
at a cost of ^10,770. Daniel Norton, John C). Norris, Julius S. 
Clark, W. Irving Ellis and Dexter Pratt served on that com- 
mittee. 

During the year 1885, the Converse School building was 
built on Washington .Street, at the P\dls, with an appropriation 
of $5,000, on land given to the town by Hon. Elisha S. Con- 
verse, for whom the schcjol is named, very appropriatel)'. For 
some time before, this school had been kept in the Fells Chapel, 
rent free, through the kindness of Mr. Converse. The com- 
mittee to erect this school-house, consisted of John \V. Far- 
well, John Robson, Royal P. Barry, Daniel Norton and George 
H. Dearborn. 

As the children in the .Swain's Pond District had become 
quite numerous, it was found necessary, in 1886, to build a 
small school-house on .Swain's Pond A\enue, between the pond 
and Lebanon Street, thus accommodating our scholars, who 
had been attending the Maiden schools, at cjuite an expense to 
Melrose. The committee to budd was John B. Souther, Jesse 
VV. Page, Thomas Poison, Thomas W. Ripley and Jesse A. 
Dill The house cost $2,500 and was named the Riple>- School. 

In 1890, the town \oted to emi:)loy a Superintendent of 
Schfjols, and Guy C. Channell was elected by the School Com- 
mittee to fill that position. He was re-elected for three suc- 
cessive years, and in 1893. ^^'^^ succeeded b}' the late Benja- 
min ¥. Robinson, who died June 16, 1898, and he was succeeded 
by PVed H. Nickerson, the present superintendent. 



194 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In 1 891, the town appropriated the sum of $46,000 for the 
purpose of building two new school-houses ; the Mary A. 
Livermore School, on a lot of land between Main and Lebanon 
Streets, with an entrance from both streets, and the four-room 
house corner of First and Eleventh Streets, now known as the 
VVinthrop School; also for alterins^ and improvinfj the High 
School building on Emerson Street. The followmg commit- 
tee was appointed to carry out these instructions: Francis S. 
Hesseltine, Charles W. Higgins, Franlc E. Orcutt, George L. 
Morse, John W. Farwell, Rufus A. White, Albert B. Franklin, 
Curtis C. Goss and George H. Dearborn. 

The same )'ear, 1891, the School Committee, with Frank L. 
Washburn, Joel Snow and Sidney H. Buttrick added, was 
authorized to make a four-room extension to the Grove Street 
School Jiouse, now the Horace Mann School, with an appro- 
priation of $1 1,000. 

In i8q2, another new school-house was built, on Warren 
Street, now known as the Warren School, costing $16,000. The 
committee consisted of three members of the School Commit- 
tee, John O. Norris, John C. Maker and William D. Stewart, 
and Charles W'. Cook, Thomas W. Ripley, Frank W. Hunt and 
Joel Snow. At this time, 1892, Melrose had twelve school- 
houses, and was employing forty-three teachers, besides one 
for music and one for drawing. 

Very soon after this date, our population increased so 
rapidly that some of the abandoned school-houses had to be 
utilized, together with other outside accommodations; and so 
great became the pressure for more school room, that the town 
took heroic action in the spring of 1896. The School Com- 
mittee and the Superintendent of Schools had made frequent 
and urgent appeals for se\'eral years; therefore, at the Town 
Meeting held February 24, 1896, the following vote was passed: 

That the town treasurer be and is hereby authorized, in the name of 
the town, to borrow two hundred thousand dollars (>2oo.ooo) for the 
construction of a high school-house, a school-house in the southeastern 
ixrrt of the town, a school-house in the sowthwestern part of the town, 
and the construction of a school-house at the Higidands, so called, in 
said town; and for procuring or purchasing land for said school- 
houses. That the town issue for said loan two hunched (200) bonds of 
one thousand dollars ($i,ooc) each, bearing date February 24. A, L). 
1896, payable in twenty (20) years fnni said date, with interest pay- 
able semi-annually at the rate of four ]jer cent, per annum; said bond:; 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



195 



to bear on their face the words " Melrose School House Loan, 1896," 
and to be signed by the treasurer of the town, and countersigned by a 
majority of the board of selectmen thereof. 

It was also at the same nieetinw, 

Voted, unanimously. That the committee to be elected to erect the 
school buildings be instructed to locate the high school building on 
the lot known as the " Old Burial Ground," on Main Street; and that 
the said committee (or the school committee, if necessary to take other- 
wise than by purchase) be authorized to purchase the land adjoining 
said burial ground, as recommended in the report of the special com- 
mittee appointed [at a Town Meeting held November 18, 1895, con- 
sisting of John O. Norris, John Dike and William D. Stewart of 
the School Committee, and Rufus S. CaqDenter, B. Marvin Fernald, 




FRANKLIN SCHOOL, COR. MAIN AND FRANKLIN STRKKTS. 

Oliver A. Roberts, Charles H. Adams, Charles H. Lang, Jr., Louis E. 
Lovejoy, Rev. Francis J. Glynn, Curtis C. Goss, and^George R. Jones,] 
to consider the matter of taking such land ; and that the town treasurer 
be authorized to borrow a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars 
($10,000) for the purpose of paying for the same. 

At a meetin<4- held March 26, 1896, it was voted: 

Whereas, at the town meeting held February 24, 1896, it was voted 
to issue two hundred (200) bonds of one thousand dollars (>iooo) each, 
said bonds bearing on their face, " Melrose School House Loan, i8g6," 
dated February 24, 1896, and payable in twenty (20) years from said 
date, a sinking fund shall be, and it is hereby established; and there 
shall be contributed thereto, from year to year, such an amount, raised 



196 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



annually by taxation as shall, with the other sums payable into the 
sinking fund, be sufficient with its accumulations to pay said bonds at 
maturity. 

This fund was immediately established by voting at this 
same meeting, that $5,000 of the sums received as premiums on 
the sale of these bonds as issued, should be applied to this 
"School House Loan Sinking Fund." Various amounts have 
since been added, and it now, January 31, 1902, amounts to 
$18,545.03, leaving the net school-house debt $181,454,97. 
The $200,000 bonds mature February 24, 1916. 




WASHINGTON SCHOOL, COR. LEBANON AND LYNDK, STREETS. 

It was voted, also, that $100,000 should be applied to build- 
ing the three Grammar Schools specified, and $100,000 for the 
High School building. 

The committee elected at the Town Meeting held March 9, 
1896, to carry out these various votes for building these new 
school-houses was as follows: Royal P. Barry, John Larrabee, 
Decius Beebe, John C. Maker, Levi S. Gould, Moses S. Page, 
Francis W. Hunt, Frank L. Washburn and Clinton White; the 
chairman of the School Committee, Oliver A. Roberts, and 
Superintendent of Schools, Benjamin V. Robinson, being mem- 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



197 



bers ex officio. This committee was autliorized to purchase 
the land, select plans and specifications, and su))erintend these 
buildings in the process of construction. 

The result has been that four \-erv handsome school build- 
ings have been added to our public property; and these addi- 
tional facilities will furnish school accommodations for many 
years to come; thus relieving the over-crowded condition of 
the schools as they existed before these new buildings were 
built. 

At a Town Meeting held November 6, 1896, an additional 
sum of S6,000 was voted for furnishing halls and grading the 




LINCOLN SCIUJOL, WYOMING AVKNUE. 

grounds around these new school-houses; which made a total 
appropriation during the year of S2 16,000 for school building 
purposes. August I, i8g8, an additional aj)i)ro[iriation of 
$3,000 was made for the purpose of grading and imi)r<ning the 
grounds aiouiid tlu' High School building. 

The three Grammar .School buildings are of brick, each hav- 
ing eight rooms, and are furnished with all the modern im- 
provements in school furniture and appliances. 

The High .School building, situated in the centre of what 
was formerly the "Old l^urial (iround," on Main Street, is one 
of the finest school buildings to be found in New England. It 



198 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

is three stories high above the basement, and is built of Ger- 
mantown brick and Braintree granite. It has fifteen school 
rooms, a handsome main hall in the upper story, with a lecture 
room adjoining, so arranged as to be connected and thrown 
into one room. There are recitation rooms, a reading room, 
a library, a physical work and store room, a chemical labora- 
tory, business room, cloak rooms, play rooms, toilet rooms, 
etc.; in short, it possesses every conceivable appliance and 
device known to modern scholarship, for the successful teach- 
ing of our young men and maidens. It was dedicated Septem- 
ber 17, 1898, with appropriate exercises. Addresses were made 
by Royal P. Barry, chairman of the building committee, Oliver 
A. Roberts, chairman of the School Committee and Sidney H. 
Buttrick, chairman of the Selectmen ; dedicatory prayer by 
the Rev. Edwin C. Bolles, D. D., and the following hymn, 
written by Frank D. Thatcher, was sung by the High School 
Chorus. 

DEDICATION HYMN. 
Esfe Perpetiia. 

Fiuished is the workmau's labor, 

Strong and firm the walls now rise, 
May onr children's children greet them, 

And this prayer ascend the skies : 
; Estc perpetua. Amen. 

Earnest now and earnest ever, 
Let this prayer ascend the skies : 
Este perpclua. Avicn. 

May these doors stand open ever. 

May our youth with courage strong 
Enter here, resolved to conquer, 

And this prayer become their song : 
Esic perpetua. Amen. 

Ent'ring with their faith unbounded, 
Hope shall light their steps along. 
Este perpetua. Ameu. 

Under tlie auspices of the High School Alumni Association, 
of which Chark^s C. Barr\- is chairman, John Larrabee, treas- 
urer, Albert K. Small, secretar\', and Miss Hattie A. Manley, 
assistant secretary, great progress has been made in the; 
decoration of the High .Scliool building. So many ha\e been 
the gifts by classes and friends, over sixt)' in number, of which 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



199 



a haiuisomc catalo,i;"iie has been printed that the\- cannot be 
enumerated here. They consist of iDusts, paintings, portraits, 
pictures, engravings, statues, bas-reliefs, alto-relievos and books. 
In the arrangement of these donations already' received, and 
which may be received in the future, il is intended to carry out 
a plan of decoration which shall be not only ornamental, but 
useful and educational. The assembly hall is to be devoted to 
music and oratory; the librar\- to English and American men 
of letters; the first corridor, natural scener>-; north end of 
second corridor, .Aineiicaii Iii->tor\-; the south end English 




MEI.KOSE HIGH SCHOOI,, MAIX STKICI-.T. 

history; one room to Christian art, one' to modern art. one to 
Massachusetts histor\' and literature, and onr to local history; 
of the remaining rooms, one I\gyi)tian. one (ireek, one Roman, 
one French, one (u-rman, and one Japanese euihellishments. 

In this connection must be mentioned an intert'sting lAent 
which look place at the annual meeting of the High School 
Alumni, June 25, ig02. This was the 1 resentation of a \ er>- 
handsome portrait of Mr. Whitman, pauited b\- a former grad- 
uate, Wallace I^ryant, long resident in Melrose, and an artist 
of great merit. This has been ap; ro])riat(.'l\- hung in the main 
hall. ( )n this occasion numerous other gifts were added to 
those pre\i()usly noted for the adoinnu'nt of the High .School 
buildinij". 



200 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

On the i8th of June, 1901, an interesting event took place 
in this building, when a handsome bronze mural tablet, in 
memory of John Crosby Maker, several years a member of the 
School Committee, was presented by his brother officers of the 
Twenty-Fourth Regiment Association, through the medium of 
the LoA^al Legion of Massachusetts, with appropriate exercises: 
Singing by the High School Glee Club; addresses by William 
D. Stewart, chairman of the School Committee, His Honor, 
Mayor John Larrabee, His Honor, Mayor Thomas N. Hart of 
Boston, General Francis A. Osborn, who was Colonel of the 
regiment in which Captain Maker ser\'ed, and the presentation 
address b}' Colonel Francis S. Hesseltine. These services took 
place in the assembly hall, after which the audience gathered 
in the main corridor, and after prayer by Rev. Augustus E. 
Scoville, of the First l^aptist Church, the tablet was unveiled 
b}^ Miss Helen Goodnow, the 3'oung grand-daughter of Captain 
Maker. The inscrij^tion is as follows: 

To the Memory of John C. Maker, Captain of Company K, 24th 
Regt. Mass. Infantry. December 20, iS37-June 19, 1900. A faith- 
ful officer in the war which preserved the Union and destroyed slavery. 
His companions in arms of the Commandery of the State of Massa- 
chusetts, of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United 
States ha\"e here placed this tablet. Lex A'/x// Anna Tnciitiir. 

Compare this beautiful new Inu'lding, with its adornments, 
to the little old district school-house, unpainted and unadorned 
— in use until 182S — which was situated on the old road, now 
Lebanon Street. What a contrast! Vet we ha\'e with us still 
those wdio have witnessed both, and who learned their A B C's 
in the structure heretofore described; among them George F. 
Boardman, Charles Boardman, Mrs. Mary Lynde, Mrs. Joanna 
Church and Mrs. Mary Vinton; and the late George Newhall, 
James (i. lunerson, h'reeman Upham, Asa Upham and Mrs. 
Sarah L). Howe were also among these scholars. 

As a matter of contrast, also, as indicating the grow'th of a 
half centur\-, it is pleasant to take note of the school expenses 
of the " North Precinct," at a time just before Melrose was 
incorporated, and those of the present time. The Annual 
Report of flic Financial Concerns of the Town of Maiden, March /, 
1844, shows a total pax'mcnt for the schooling of the "North 
District" to be the sum of 5475.C9. Total amount for all 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



201 



Maiden schools, $2,346.54. The total eimount appropriated for 
the same district, now Melrose, for the }'ear ending December 
31, 1902, was $77,089.'' 

Public Kindergarten Schools were established in 1897 in the 
following manner: At a Town Meeting held March 5, it was 
\'oted: 

That one thousand dollars (5 1000) of the amount raised or appropri- 
ated for school purposes be expended under the direction of the School 
•Committee to establish one public kindergarten school. 

Upon the passage of this vote Hon. William E. Barrett 
announced his intention to present the town the sum of $1,000, 
to establish, during the year, another public kindergarten 
school, whereupon it was 

Voted, That the thanks of the town be extended the Hon. William 
E. Barrett for his very generous offer to contribute into the town 
treasury the sum of $1,000 for the puipose of establishing a public 
kindergarten school. 

This was passed unanimously b)' a rising vote. 

* The value of our fourteen school buildings with the amount of land 
connected with each as given in the " vSchedule of City Property" for 
January i, 1902, nicluding personal property, was as follows 



Converse, 21,017 square feet land, 

Franklin, 21,752 square feet land, 

D. W. Gooch, 27,815 square feet land, 

High, 116,385 square feet land, 

I/incolu, 27,604 square feet land, 

Mary A. Liverniore, 26,555 square feet land, . 

Horace Mann, 26,361 square feet land, 

Ripley, 14,748 square feet land, 

Sewall, 14,567 square feet land, 

Joseph Warren, 18,572 square feet land, . 

Washington, 30,794 square feet land, 

West vSide Kindergarten, 11,880 square feet land, 

Whittier, 15,000 square feet land, 

Winthrop, 26,544 square feet land, . 

Total, 
This leaves out the old 
Green Street buildiiifj, 24,5(X) square feet land, 
Chestnut vStreet building, 12,000 square feet land, 
Uphani Street l)uildin,<^, 11,400 square feet land, 

Total, 



$ 6,229.00 

40,704.00 

32 048.00 

178,415.00 

40,607.00 

19,958.00 

26,003.00 

2,834.00 

I5-939-00 

17,141.00 

38,671.00 

4.325-00 

10,882.00 

13,429.00 

$446,825.00 

$ 4,600.00 
2,900.00 
1,275.00 

I8.775.00 



202 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



The twenty-four years' service b}^ Robert Gerry, who was 
school-master in the early years, before Melrose was incorpo- 
rated, have been surpassed in length of service, in later years, 
by Alonzo G. Whitman, who came to Melrose as Principal of 
the High School, in November, 1874; and after twenty-three 
years of efficient work in that position, resigned, and was given 
the position of Principal Emeritus, where he has charge of the 
departments of mathematics and science. When Mr. Whitman 
began his work the school numbered sixty-nine scholars, two 
teachers besides himself, and one course of study. When he 
resigned there were two hundred and twenty-nine scholars, 
eight teachers, and five courses of study. Concerning his work 
during this long period, the report of the School Committee 
for 1897 says: 

The love and resJDect of hundreds of young ladies and gentlemen in 
and around Melrose who received their instruction under Mr. Whit- 
man's guidance, and who are now occupying responsible and honorable 
positions, is the best evidence of his success as a teacher, and there is 
a vmiversal feeling that the town is fortunate in being able to retain 
the services of Mr. Whitman as an instructor. 

SCHOOL COMMITTEES. 



1850. 
Henry A. Norris. 
Caleb Howard. 
Elbridge Green. 

1851. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D. 
Rev. Josiah W. Talbot. 
Rev. Wilson R. Parsons. 

1852. 
Rev. Wilson R. Parsons. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D. 
George E. White. 

1853. 
Daniel W. Gooch. 
George P. Burnhani. 
John Shelton. 

1854. 
Elbridge Green. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D. 
Charles H. Sinionds. 



TOWN. 

1855. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D. 
Rev. Alexander J. Sessions. 
Rev. J. A. Coolidge. 

1856. 
Rev. Alexander J. vSessions. 
Walter Littlefield. 
Caleb Howard. 

1857. 
Rev. Alexander J. Sessions. 
Rev. William H. Munroe. 
Rev. Joseph S. Dennis. 

1858. 
Moses Parker, M. D. 
Rev. William H. Munroe. 
George N. Noyes. 

1859. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D. 
Rev. William H. Munroe. 
Rev. James Cooper. 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



203 



i:60. 

Erastus O. Phiuney, M. D. 
Aaron Green. 
Elbridge Gardner. 

1861, 
Erastus O. Phiuney, M. D. 
Luther Robinson. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 

1862. 
Luther Robinson. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 
Henry E. Trowbridge. 

1863. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 
George A. Mansfield. 

1864. 
Joseph B. San ford. 
Rev. John B. Richmond. 
Thomas \V. .Chadbourne. 

1865. 
Hon. Samuel E. Sewall. 
Thomas W. Chadbourne. 
Rev. John B. Richmond. 
George N. Noyes. 
George A. Mansfield. 
George Emerson, 2d. 

1866. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 
Thomas W. Chadbourne. 
George N. Noyes. 
George Emerson, 2d. 
George A. Mansfield. 

1867. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 
Thomas W. Chadbourne. 
Moses Parker, M. D. 
Rev. Nathan P. Selee. 

1868. 
Rev. William S. Barnes. 
Nelson Cochran. 
Gilbert Nash. 

1869. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 
William H. Allen. 
Nelson Cochran. 

1870. 
Charles H. Isburgh. 
William H. Allen. 
Francis P. Woodbury. 



1871. 
Nathan P. Selee. 
Francis P. Woodbur)^ 
Nelson Cochran. 

1872. 

Francis P. Woodbury. 
Nelson Cochran. 
Nathan P. Selee. 

1878. 
Francis P. Woodbury. 
Nelson Cochran. 
Hon. Daniel W. Gooch. 

1874. 
John O. Norris. 
Hon. Daniel W. Gooch. 
J. Heber Smith, M. D. 
Miss Phoebe A. Norris. 
Mrs. Nathan P. Selee. 
Mrs. Samuel E. Sewall. 

1875. 
Samuel Adams Drake. 
John O. Norris. 
Hon. Daniel W. Gooch. 
Miss Phoebe A. Norris. 
Mrs. James C. Currier. 
Mrs. Alouzo V. Lynde. 

1876. 
George F. Stone. 
Mrs. Alonzo V. Lynde. 
Maj. W. Irving Ellis. 
Mrs. James C. Currier. 
Alonzo S. Ranlett. 
Miss Phoebe A. Norris. 

1877. 
Thomas B. Peck. 
Lafayette Burr. 
Moses S. Page. 
Miss Phoebe h. Norris. 
Mrs. Maria W. Currier. 
Mrs. Ann M. Kunhartlt. 

1878. 
Royal P. Barry. 
Lafayette Burr. 
Moses S. Page. 
Miss Phoebe .\. Norris. 
Mrs. Ann M. Kunhardt. 
Everett W. Burdett. 



*204 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



1879. 
Royal P. Barry. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Moses S. Page. 
Miss Phoebe A. Norris. 
Mrs. Ann M. Kunhardt. 
Mrs. Marietta M. W. Seaver. 

1880. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Louis E. K. Robson. 
Julius S. Clark, M. D. 
Mrs. Marietta M. W. Seaver. 
Mrs. Ann M. Kunhardt. 
Mrs. Benjamin F. Bradbury. 

1881. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Levi W. Gilniau. 
Julius S. Clark, M. D. 
Mrs. Ann M. Kunhardt. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 

1882. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Levi W. Oilman. 
Julius S. Clark, M. D. 
Mrs. Martha A. Adams. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 

1883. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Julius S. Clark, M. D. 
Mrs. Martha A. Adams. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
Thomas W. Ripley. 

1884. 
Julius S. Clark, M. D. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Mrs. Martha A. Adams. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
Thomas W. Ripley. 

1885. 
Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 
Mrs. Martha A. Adams. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
Thomas W. Ripley. 
S. Robertson Winchell. 



1886. 
Thomas W. Ripley. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
S. Robertson Winchell. 
Hon. Charles F. Loriug. 
Mrs. Addie B. P. Waterhouse. 

1887. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
S. Robertson Winchell. 
Hon. Charles F. Loring. 
Mrs. Addie B. P. Waterhouse. 

1888. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
John C. Maker. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
Hon. Charles F. Loring. 
Mrs. Addie B. P. Waterhouse. 



John O. Norris. 

Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 

John C. Maker. 

Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 

Hon. Charles F. Loriug. 

Mrs. Addie B. P. Waterhouse. 

1S90. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
John C. Maker. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
Hon. Charles F. Loriug. 
Mrs. Addie B. P. Waterhouse. 

1891. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Bradbury. 
John C. Maker. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
Hon. Charles F. Loring. 
Mrs. Addie B. P. Waterhouse. 

1892. 
John O. Norris. 
John C. Maker. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
William D. Stewart. 
Mrs. George F". McDonald. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 



EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 



205 



1893. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
John C. Maker. 
Mrs. Arethusa K. Miller. 
William D. Stewart. 
Mrs. Ella F. McDonald. 

1894. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
William D. Stewart. 
Mrs. Ella F. McDonald. 
John Dike, M. D. 
Mrs. Susan F. Flanders. 

1895. 
John O. Norris. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
William D. Stewart. 
Mrs. Mabel F. Valentine. 
John Dike, M. D. 
Mrs. Susan F. Flanders. 

189(). 
Oliver A. Roberts. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
William D. Stewart. 
Mrs. Mabel F. Valentine. 
John Dike, M. D. 
Mrs. Susan F. Flanders. 

1897. 
Oliver A. Roberts. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
William D. Stewart. 
Mrs. Mabel F. Valentine. 
Mrs. Susan F. Flanders. 
John C. Maker. 



1898. 
Oliver A. Roberts. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
Mrs. Sarah A. Day. 
Mrs. Susan F. Flanders. 
John C. Maker. 
Rev. George N. Howard. 

1899. 
Arthur F. Amadou, M. D. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
Mrs. Sarah A. Day. 
Mrs. Susan F". Flanders. 
John C. Maker. 
Rev. Geori^e N. Howard. 

CITY. 

1900. 
Three Year.s. 
Arthur F. Aniadon, M. D. 
Mrs, Sarah F. Flanders. 
John C. Maker. 

Two Years. 
D. Eugene Curtis. 
Mrs. Sarah A. Day. 
William D. vStewart. 
One Year. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
Edward B. Marsh. 
Fred L- Wood. 

1901. 
Three Years. 
Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn. 
Edward B. Marsh. 
Fred L. Wood. 

1902. 
Three Years. 
Don E. Curtis. 
Mrs. Sarah A. Day. 
William D. Stewart. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MILITARY HISTORY. 

IN THE various French and Indian wars that took place 
previous to the American Revolution, there were many 
Maiden men. It is next to impossible to decide just who 
belonged to North Maiden, and who to Maiden, as they were 
all credited to the quotas of Maiden proper. But as there 
were many soldiers who bore the names of the original families 
living in North Maiden, Green, Lynde, Sprague, Upham, 
How^ard, Barrett, Vinton, and others of later generations, there 
is no doubt, indeed it is very probable, that North Maiden was 
represented in nearly all, if not all of them; not only as 
privates but officers. Se\'eral of the L\'ndes and Barretts 
bore commissions as captains, majors, lieutenants, etc., and 
such was the case with some other names. Artemas Barrett 
evident!}' had made quite a study of the part taken in the 
military by our citizens, and he left a memorandum which is 
given here, in which there are a few details concerning these 
wars and the part taken in them b\- Maklen men: 

In King Philip's War. 1675, Maklen had twenty-nine men. Seven 
who were in Capt. Samuel Mosely's Company who were in the battle 
known as the Narraganset fight. Maiden troops under Capt. William 
Green marched on an expedition against the Indians in 1695, in what 
is known as King William's War. In the Siege of Louisburg, in 1745, 
INIalden bore a conspicuous part ; nine of her young men there laid 
down their lives. In 1758, the enrolled militia of Maiden was 134 men 
under command of Capt. lohn Dexter, at that time. In Dr. Eben"" 
Morrow's Company of Medford, Lieut. Samuel Purditt and Darius 
Green with thirt3--one non-commissioned officers and privates of 
Maiden joined the forces of General x\bercrombie at Ticonderoga ; 
of these five Maiden men lost their lives. In 1776 the enrolled militia 
of Maiden was 300. 

It would seem from the following, copietl from the Jldssa- 
cliiisctts Archives, \o\. 68, page i 12, that some of the drafted or 



MILITARY HISTORY. 207 

impressed men, were not anxious to take part in these troub- 
lous Indian war-times; or, at least, were in no hurry in report- 
ing for dut)'; therefore the State had to act in the matter: 

2\> the Constables of Ma u /den 

These require yo" in his maj^ys name forthwith to sumon require 
&: secure John Linde Jn^ Cole & James welsh so as they may person- 
ally Appeare before the Council sitting in Boston on the ii^'^ Jnstant 
at one of the clocke then & there to Answer theire neglect of Duty in 
not appearing at the Randevous at Dedham on the 5'^ Jiist thereby 
much disappointing the service of the Country yo" are also in like 
manner to sumon & require some one or more of the Comittee of 
militia of the Toune then & there to Appeare that Jmpressed them to 
make it out that they were duely Jmpressed making your returne at or 
before the time hereof not to faele at your perrill — Dated in Boston 
the 7th of January 1675. 

By order of the Council Edwd Rawson Secre'v. 

John Lyndc was a North Maiden man, and li\ed in the 
house which stood on Main Street, where now stands the 
homestead of Henry Lynde, a direct descendant. 

An order concerning North Maiden men during these dark 
days, runs as follows: it was directed to "Capt. John Sprague 
of Mauldon." 

In Pursuance of an Order from the mag"" genii to me directed, 
Bearing date y^ i8th of this Instant June: these are in theire Majies 
Names to Requier 3-ou to detach out of yor Companie To Able Soldiers 
well appointed with arms and Amunition for their Majies Service to 
defend the ffrunteer Townes and prosecute y^ Common Enemy. You 
are to Cause them to Randevouse at wooburne, by the meeting house, 
on Tusday the Thirtyeth of this Instant, at one of the Clock in the 
Afternune, their to Receive farther orders. Hereof you may not fail 
at yor Peril. Dated In Charles Towne y^ 19"! of June 1691, and in the 
Third yeare of their Majies reigne 

No. 62. Jonx Phillips, Serjt Major. 

To the Committee of Militia in Ma 11 1 Jon. 

This order has the following endorsement on its back: " Jdhn 
green, James whitehead went to the place of raiidaz\oues, 
Jul\' 17, 1691," se\-enteen days after the time appointed. This 
was the Capt. Sprague that li\ed in the old homestead on the 
southerly side of Barrett Mount, on Maple Strei't; and Green 
was probably the grandson and lived in the old homestead of 
his grandfather, Thomas (ireen, at the Highlands, then Maiden 
North ICiul. 



208 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



As to the American Revolution: Maiden, although includ- 
ing what is now Everett and Melrose, was not a large town; 
but it was a very patriotic town, and sent forth not only her 
sons, but several spirited manifestoes, before and during the 
war. Eloquent, forcible and full of loyalty to our country 
were her various papers. First, in 1773, a letter "To the 
Respectable Inhabitants of the Town of Boston," wherein they 
informed them of the appointment of a Committee of Corres- 
pondence to act in conference with theirs. Second, a series of 
instructions to their Representative in the Legislature, Captain 
Ebenezer Harnden, dated September 23, 1874, the last sentence 
of which was: 

The people in the province are a free and a brave people ; and we 
are determined in the strength of our God, that we will, in spite of 
open force and private treachery, live and die as becomes the descend- 
ants of such ancestors as ours, who sacrificed their all, that they and 
their posterity might be free. 

Third, another to his successor, Ezra Sargent, Esq., which is 
so full of patiiotic fire it is given hrre in full; these instruc- 
tions were written by Rev. Peter Thacher, who was settled in 
Maiden in 1770,^ delivered the Fifth of March Oration in 1776,. 
was a delegate from Maiden to the Massachusetts Constitu- 
tional Convention in 1780, and became pastor of Brattle Square 
Church, Boston, in 1785:- 

Iiistnictioiis of the town of JSIahieii to their Rcpi-eseiitative, Fassed 
May 2jth, lyyd : 
Sir — A resolution of the late Honorable House of Representatives, 
calling upon the several towns in this Colony to express their minds, 



^ This paper was prepared in re- 
sponse to a resolution of the Mas- 
sachusetts House of Representa- 
tives; and by it the little town 
committed itself fearlessly in favor 
of independence first of all the 
towns of the province, preceding 
the action of Boston l)y three days. 
Deloraine P. Corey, Neiv Engtand 
Magazine, May, 1899, p. 373. 

- The following anecdote con- 
nected with his ministry in Maiden 
was told by Rev. Alexander W. 
McClure at the Bi-Centennial Cele- 



l)ration of Maiden, in 1849: "On 
one occasion he called in the after- 
noon upon a lady, poor but proud. 
The good lady met him at the door, 
her covmtenance all wreathed in 
smiles. She was very sorry that 
her pastor had not come to dine, 
she had so nice a turkey, and she 
knew he loved turkey so much. 
' No doubt of it, no doubt of it,, 
madam ;' was the re])ly of the 
reverend man. ' I perceive you 
have had turkey for dinner, and 
here is a feather of it on your ker- 
chief.' Awful to relate, that feath- 



MILITARY HISTORY. 209 

with respect to the important question of American Independence, 
is the occasion of our now instructing you. 

The time was, Sir, when we loved the King and the People of Great 
Britain, with an affection truly filial ; we felt ourselves interested in 
their glory, we shared in their joys and sorrows, we cheerfully poured 
the fruit of all our labors into the lap of our Mother Country, and 
without reluctance, expended our blood and our treasure in her cause. 
These were our sentiments towards Great Britain : while she continued 
to act the part of a parent State, we felt ourselves happy in our con- 
nection with her, nor wished it to be dissolved. But our sentiments 
are altered. It is now the ardent wish of ourselves, that America may 
become Free and Independent States. A sense of unprovoked 
injuries will arouse the resentment of the most peaceful; such injuries 
these Colonies have received from Britain. Unjustifiable claims have 
been made by the King and his minions, to tax us without our con- 
sent. These colonies have been prosecuted in a manner cruel and un- 
just to the highest degree, the frantic policy of Administration hath 
induced them to send Fleets and Armies to America, that by depriv- 
ing us of our trade, and cutting the throats of our brethren, they might 
awe us into submission, and erect a system of despotism which should 
so far enlarge the infiuence of the Crown, as to enable it to rivet their 
shackles upon the people of Great Britain. This was brought to a 
crisis upon the ever memorable nineteenth of April ; we remember the 
fatal day; the expiring groans of our murdered countrymen yet 
vibrate on our ears ! ! We now behold the flames of their peaceful 
dwellings ascending to heaven ; we hear their blood crying to us from 
the ground. Vengeance! and charging us, as we value the peace of 
their manes, to have no further connection with a King, who can un- 
feelingly hear of the slaughter of his subjects and composedly sleep 
with their blood upon his soul. The manner in which the \A'ar has 
been prosecuted has confirmed us in these sentiments; Piracy and 
Murder, robbery and breach of faith, have been conspicuous in the 
conduct of the King's Troops; defenceless Towns have been attacked 
and destroyed,— the ruins of Charlestown, which are daily in our view, 
daily remind us of this. The cries of the Widow and the Oiphan de- 
mand our attention ; they demand that the hand of pity should wipe 
the tears from their eyes; and that the sword of their Country should 

er was a respectable dab of mush and thai priiiiit ve dish known as 

and molasses! Oftjn after his re- 'hasty pudding' and so scientific- 

moval to the Brattle vSquare Church, ally described by the famous Count 

did that eloquent and popular di- Rumford, was long known iu 

vine 'keep the table in a roar' at fashionable parlance as 'Maiden 

the numerous dining parties of his turkey.'" Bi-Ceiitciinial book of 

day, where he was ever a welcome Maiden, p. 90. 
guest, by rehearsing this incident ; 



210 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

avenge their own and our rights, and bring to condign punishment the 
elevated villains who have trampled upon the sacred rights of men, 
and affronted the majesty of the people. 

We hoped in vain. They have lost their love to Freedom, they have 
lost their spirit of just resentment. We therefore renounce with dis- 
dain our connection with the kingdom of Slaves ; we bid a final adieu 
to Britain. Could an accommodation be now effected, we have reason 
to think that it would be fatal to the liberties of America, — we should 
soon catch the contagion of venality and dissipation, which has sub- 
jected Britain to lawless domination : Were we placed in the situation 
we were in, in the year 1773; were the powers of appointing to office, 
and commanding the Militia, in the hands of Governors, our arts, 
trade, and manufactures would be cramped ; nay, more than this, the 
life of every man who has been active in the cause of his Country 
would be endangered. For these reasons, as well as many others 
which might be produced, we are confirmed in the opinion, that the 
present age will be deficient in their duty to God, their posterity, and 
themselves, if they do not establish an American Republic. This is 
the only form of government which we wish to see established ; for we 
can never willingly be subject to any other King, than He, who being 
possessed of infinite wisdom, goodness, and rectitude, is alone fit to 
possess unlimited power. 

We have freely spoken our sentiments upon this important subject; 
but we mean not to dictate. We have unbounded confidence in the 
wisdom and uprightness of the Continental Congress ; with pleasure 
we recollect that this affair is under their direction : — and we now 
instruct you. Sir, to give them the strongest assurance, that if they 
should declare America to be a Free and Independent Repviblic, your 
constituents will support and defend the measure to the Last Drop of 
THEIR Blood and the Last Farthing of their Treasure. 

So strong, forcible, and eloquent was this address, that Chief 
Justice Marshall quoted it in his Life of Washington ; and it 
has also been commended by other historians. 

When the Lexington alarm was sounded, Maiden was pre- 
pared for the emergency. A messenger arriving at Hill's 
Tavern, then standing where now stands City Hall, gave the 
cry "The Regulars are out!" which alarm spread from farm to 
farm, and the minute-men belonging to Captain Benjamin 
Blaney's company 

gathered on the little green before the tavern and awaited orders from 
their colonel at Watertown. Women and children followed by their 
side as they marched away towards Menotomy, now Arlington, where 
they arrived in time to capture a bewildered supply train of the enemy .-^ 

^ Corey, in A^ew Englami Magazine, May, 1899, p. 373. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 



211 



The roll of the company in which these "Minute Men of 
Maiden " served, is taken from the Massachusetts Archives: 
Revolutionary Rolls, xi. 209: and is as follows: 

A Role of the Company of the Militea that went to Watertown By 
order of the Late Col? Gardner upon the alarm on the 19 Day of april 
1775 and from there to Resist the Ministeral troops under the Com- 
mand of Cap^. Benja Blaney. 

Benja Blaney Cap^. 
Nathan Lyndes Lieu' Williaim Wait Second Liu' 

Amos Shute Serjant Nehemiah Oaks Serjant 

Jabez Lyndes Serjant 

Bernard Green Cor'. 
Nathan Eaton Cor\ 
\\'inslow Sargeant Drumer 



Micah Wait Cor'. 
Jacob Parker Cor>. 



John Ramsdel 
Joseph Lyndes J" 
Ezra Howard 
John Vinton 
Jacob Sargeant 
William Sprague 
Benja Lyndes 
John Pratt 
Ebeni" Payne 
John Grover ye 3 
John Wat J" 
David Wait 
William Dexter 
Jonathan Gardner 
Stephen Tufts 
Samuel Wait 
Unite Cox 
Benja Grover 
Ebenr Wait 
Joseph Barrett J» 
David Howard 



Ezra Sargeant 
Ezra Hawkes 
James Wade 
Robert Burdit 
Gidion Williams 
Jacob Pratt 
Daniel Chadwick 
Thomas Wait y« 3 
William Upham 
Ezra Upham 
Ezekiel Jenkins J" 
Joseph Floyd 
William Low 
Joseph Hollowell 
John Jenkins 
Francis Phillips 
Bernard Newhall 
Nathan Parker 
Richard Dexter 
Timothy Tufts 
Samuel Hollowell 



Daniel Breeding 
Elnathan Breeding 
Benja Brown 
Peter Brown 
Charles Hill 
Phinheas Sprague, ]\ 
Edward Newhall 
James Green 
Silas Sargeant 
Ezekiel Jenkins 
John Grover, J" 
John Gould 
Naler Hatch 
Daniel Waters 
Joseph Jenkins 
Phinehas Sprague 
David Bucknam 
William Gill 
John Grover y^ 4 
Stephen Pain J" 
Benja Sprague J" 
Joseph Lyndes 
Benja Blaney cptn.'^ 



* They were paid for one clay's 
service at the followiu^' rates : cap- 
tain, 4s. 4d.; lieutenant, 3s.; second 
lieutenant, 2s. 8d.; sergeants, is. 
8d.; corporals, is. 6d.; drummer, 
IS. 6d., and privates, is. 4d. The 
last fourteen names were allowed 
for twenty miles travel, "out and 



home," and the others for thirty- 
four miles. The total amount was 
£15 4s., for which the Council or- 
dered a warrant to be drawn, Feb. 
7, 1777. Captain Blaney's company 
was the fourth in the first regiment 
of Middlesex militia. 



212 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Some years ago, Artemas Barrett made a search of the Town 
and State records, and, by the aid of those and his own per- 
sonal knowledge, completed a list of those of our own citizens,. 
who were in this company, and who went to Lexington on that 
famous 19th of April. They are as follows: 

Sergeant Jabez Lynde, Coiporal Nathan Eaton, Phineas Sprague, 

Joseph Lynde, John Grover, Jr., Phineas Sprague, Jr.,. 

Joseph Lynde, Jr., John Grover, 3d, Ezra Upham, 

Joseph Barrett, Jr., Unite Cox, John Vinton, 

John Gould, Benjamin Lynde, William Upham, 

Ezra Howard, John Pratt, Benoni Vinton. 

Here are found all of the oldest names of the settlers in 
North Maiden. There was hardly a man living here at the 
time, who was able to bear arms, who did not become a 
" minute-man," when the alarm was sounded. The two Spragues 
were father and son; the father living on West Foster Street, 
the son on Porter Street. There were three others that went 
from our present territory; the three brothers, Thomas, Tim- 
othy and Ezra Vinton, who lived at the Highlands, then a 
part of Stoneham; they went in Captain Samuel Sprague's. 
company.^ 

The following additional items concerning the military 



5 Thomas, Timothy aud Ezra 
Vinton of the Vinton neighbor- 
hood, now Melrose Highlands, but 
then a part of Stoneham, marched 
with the minute men of the latter 
town. Some of the North End men 
marched with the minute-men from 
Kettell's Tavern, while others took 
a shorter route across the country 
to the Lexington Road. After they 
had left, the women filled saddle- 



who lived in the southeast part of 
the town, near the Chelsea line, 
and a boy named Breeden, who was- 
probably from Chelsea, near Black 
Ann's Corner. The latter was 
about eighteen years old, and was 
unarmed, l)ut he said he would get 
a gun if they would let him go. 
"While they were following the 
troops in the afternoon, he became 
so daring that Phineas Sprague, 



bags with food and despatched one of the minute-men, called at- 

Israel Cook, with a horse belonging tention to him several times and 

to Phineas Sprague, after them. remarked that he would be killed. 

MeetingtheBritishon their retreat, Observing one of the .soldiers lag- 

his horse was killed ; but he should- ging, he borrowed a gun and fol- 

ered the bags and wandered about lowed him. When the others came 

until he met his friends, who were up he had killed the soldier and was 

in need of the refreshments which eating the ration which his dead 

he carried. enemy had provided. Artemas 

Among those who went out upon Barrett, in the Melrose Journaly 

the early alarm was John Ivdniunds, April 17, 1875. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 213 

history of the North Maiden men are taken from Corey's list 
of "Soldiers and Sailors," in his History of Maiden: 

Barrett, Joseph, Jr.; Lexington alarm, 1775; with Captain Benjamin 
Blaney, Col. Brooks's regiment of guards at Cambridge, Feb. -April. 
1778. 

Cox, Unite; Lexington alarm, 1775; sergeant in eight months' 
•service with Captain Naler Hatch, Lieut. -Col. Bond, 1775. 

Eaton, Nathan; corporal at Lexington alarm, 1775 \ ^"^ eight months' 
service with Captain Naler Hatch, Lieut.-Col. Bond, 1775. 

Gould, John; Lexington alarm, 1775; with Capt. Benjamin Blaney 
in Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776. 

Grover, John ; Lexington alarm, 1775; eight months' service with 
Capt. N. Hatch, Lieut.-Col. Bond, 1775; drafted and marched for 
Horse Neck, [Conn.] Sept. 26, 1776, with Capt. John Walton, Col, 
Brooks; with Capt. Joseph Fuller, Col. BuUard, in service "North- 
ward," Aug.-Nov., 1777; with Capt. Caleb Brooks's regiment of 
guards at Cambridge, Dec, 1777-April, 1778 ; with Capt. Benj. Edgell, 
Col. Jacobs, July 1778-Jan. 1779, perhaps in Rhode Island service. 
John Grover also appears with Capt. B. Blaney in Col. Brooks's regi- 
ment of guards at Cambridge, Feb.-April, 1778; as matrons with 
Capt. Donnell, Col. Crane, July, 1778-Dec., 1780, and perhaps later, 
having enlisted for the war. I cannot distinguish between the two who 
performed the above service. John Grover and John Grover, Jr., have 
become confounded; and perhaps the two following names should 
have a part of this record. 

Grover, John 3rd; Lexington alarm, 1775. 

Grover, John, 4th; Lexington alarm, 1775. 

Howard, Ezra; Lexington alarm, 1775; with Capt. Benj. Blaney in 
Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776; with Capt. Blaney in Col. 
Brooks's regiment of guards at Cambridge, Feb.-April, 1778. 

Lynde, Benjamin; Lexington alarm, 1775; with Capt. Benj. Blaney 
in Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776; with Capt. Blaney in Col. 
Brooks's regiment of guards at Cambridge; Feb.-April, 1778. 

Lynde, Jabez; sergeant at Lexington alarm, 1775; sergeant with 
■Capt, Benj. Blaney in Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776; received 
^ix pounds bounty, Dec. 9, 1776, "Voted by the Town of Maiden for 
Providing a Reinforcement for the american Army." 

Lynde, Joseph; Lexington alarm, 1775. 

Lynde, Joseph Jr.; Lexington alarm, 1775 ; with Capt. Benj. Blaney 
in Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776. 

Pratt, John; corporal with Capt. Cadwallader Ford, in Col. Brooks's 
regiment of guards at Cambridge, Februarj- — April, 1778. 

Sprague, Phineas, and Sprague, Phineas, Jr.; both father and son 
were at the Lexington alarm, 1775; one was with Capt. Blaney in 



214 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776; one was in Rhode Island ser- 
vice with Captain Stephen Dana, Col. Whitnej-, I cannot separate 
their service. 

Uphani, Ezra; Lexington alarm, 1775; joined company of Capt. 
Caleb Brooks, in Col. Brooks's regiment of guards at Cambridge, No- 
vember 3, 1777. 

Upham, William; Lexington alarm, 1775; with Capt. Benj. Blaney 
in Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776; drafted and marched for 
Horse Neck, with Capt. John Walton, Col. Brooks, September, 26, 
1776; in hospital, October 31, 1776. 

Vinton, Benoni ; with Capt. Benj. Blanej' in Point Shirle}^ expedi- 
tion, June, 1776; drafted and marched for Horse Neck with Capt. 
John Walton, Col. Brooks, September, 26, 1776. 

Vinton, John; Lexington alarm, 1775; M'ith Capt. Benj. Blaney, in 
Point Shirley expedition, June, 1776; 2nd Lieut, in Col. Samuel 
Thacher's Middlesex regiment (militia), July 29, 177S. 

In May another company was raised in accordance with a 
vote passed " In Committee of Safety May 3d, 1775 Cam- 
bridg^e," for two companies to be formed in Chelsea and Mai- 
den "for the defence of the Sea Coast of said Towns." The 
Maiden company under the command of Capt. Naler Hatch, 
was posted at Beacham's Point, watching the landing places 
there and at Penny Ferry. This company was composed 
mostly of Maiden men, some of whom were from the North 
End. The roll from the Rcvolutio7iary Archives at the State 
House is as follows: 

A return of Capt. Nailor Hatch's Company, in the Third Regiment 
of Foot, in the Continental Army, commanded by Lieut. Col. Wp 
Bond: 

Cap*. Nailer Hatch Maulden Serg'. Barnabas Newhall Maulden. 

Leu\ Nathan Eaton do Serg'. L^nite Cox do 

Ensign John Vezee Boston Corp'. Edward Thompson Lynn 

Sergt. Elijah Caswell Maulden Corp'. Charles Hill Maulden 

Sergt Benj'^ Grover do Fifer Naler Hatch do 

Drum Oliver Donnell Lynn. 

Amos Sargent Maulden Elisha Frothingham Reading 

Benj Sweetser Charlestown Floyd Pratt Maulden 

Bela Sweetser do George Barrington do 

David Knower Maulden John Grover do 

Dudley Jones do Joshua Caswell do 

Ebenezer Eaton do Isaiah Pain do 

Ebenezer Bearne do Joseph Baldwin do 

Joshua Gill Maulden John Graham Maulden 



MILITARY HISTORY. 



215 



Joel \Miitnian Maiiklcn 
Pomp Magus (negro) Reading" 
Joseph HoUoway Maulden 
Moses Woodman Newbury 
John Hatch Maulden 
Nath'. Buckman do 
Nathan Burditt do 
Nathaniel Peck Boston 
George Smith 
Obadiah Jenkins Maulden 
Prince Hill do 

Phineas Sargent do 
I'homas Wheeler Maulden 
Thomas Hadley Stoneham 



John Sprague Maulden 
James Nichols do 
Robert Burditt Maulden 
Robert Campbell Boston 
Stephen Pain Maulden 
Solomon Sargent do 
Samuel HoUoway do 
Samuel Bishop do 

Samuel Burditt do 

Samuel Grover do 

Solomon How do 

Silas Sargent do 

William Underwood Towns End 
William Sprague Maulden. 



Some of these Maiden men were from the north end of the 
town; just which ones cannot now be stated. Both of these 
companies, commanded by Captains Blaney and Hatch, were 
stationed at Beacham's Point, on the Mystic, during the Battle 
of Bunker Hill; and from this point Rev, Mr. Thacher, who 
wrote the foregoing patriotic instructions, witnessed the battle, 
a spirited account of which he prepared for transmission to 
England. From the top of Wayte's Mount, many watched the 
progress of the battle; and the next da\' wountled men were 
brought to Dr. Jonathan Porter's tavern on the Salem road. 

During the remaining years of the war, there were various 
other enlistments, and drafts required for the several quotas 
called for from Maiden. The record of those that went from 
North Maiden has been given as fully as possible; it being- 
somewhat difficult to separate them from those from Maiden 
proper. 

The following enlistment paper, and the receipt were gi\'en 
by one of the Greens: 

1 the subscriber do enlist mj'self into the service of the U. S. of 
America, to continue in s<' service until the end of the present War 
with Britain unless sooner Regularly discharged. I engage to be 
under the command of the General Officers of the V . S. of A. which 



" Coucerning this colored soldier, 
Pomp Magus, Echoes front Mystic 
Side, p. 37, has the following: 
" Very old peo})le still reiiieinber 
Pomp Magus, a colored tnau, who. 



aid of the ohl lueii. His rifle was 
not loaded at the time, and was in 
the form of a pitch fork handle, 
which he levelled over the wall, 
and answered all purposes to poiut 



on the nineteenth [of April] was at the flying men. His share of 
working near by, and ran to the the stores consisted of a sum of 



216 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

are or maj^ be appointed & faithfully to observe & obey all such orders 
as from time to time shall Receive from my Officers & to be under 
such Regulations in every respect as are or may be provided for the 
Army of the U. S. Daniel Green the third. 

Dated April 13111. 1781. 

Rec'd of Lieut Nathan Lynde Capt John Dexter Mr Samuel 
Sprague Mr John Harnden Dea John Ramsdel Mr Nathan Sprague 
Mr Jonathan Howard Mr Ebenr Harnden Mr John Kilter Mr Saml 
Burdett and others Belonging to the same class in Money and Notes 
of hand to the value of two hundred and seventy-five Spanish Milled 
Dollars. S'^ notes of hand are given to my Grandfather Jonathan 
Green as my agent. S^^ Notes when paid together with the Money I 
have Received of the above named persons is in full for all the time 
or Bounty that s"^ persons agreed and promised to give me for Enlist- 
ing into the Continental Army as a Soldier for s"^ Class as witness my 
hand. Daniel Green ye 3d. 

Maiden May y^ 11, 1781 

In the war of 1812, and in the war with Mexico, Maiden had 
her soldiers, and some of the enlistments were from North 
Maiden. 

As to the Civil War, the Great Rebellion of 1861: In 1868, 
a volume containing 321 pages was published, giving a history 
of the part taken in this war, with the following title page: The 
Melrose Memorial: The Aujials of Melrose, Cou/ity of Middlesex, 
Massachusetts, in the Great Rebellion of 1861-6^. By Elbridge H. 
Goss. Privately Printed by Subscription, 1868. This work is now 
out of print; and as it gave the details of the action of Melrose 
at that time, and the names of those who enlisted on her 
different quotas, with all the details of their service, it seems 
fitting to embody the most essential facts from that volume in 
this; some portions verbatim et literatim, and some portions 
condensed. A list of the names only of those who were 
citizens, and served on our quotas, will here be given; non- 
resident substitutes will be omitted. For much information 
concerning the individual history of our "Boys in Blue," bio- 
graphical sketches, rebel prison experiences, and other inci- 
dents, see that work. 

money and a leg of bacon. He form, with his militar}- badge pin- 
joined the army, went through the ned upon his breast, and parade the 
Revolutionary War, and returned streets, shouting ' Cambric,' mean- 
to Maiden to live, and where he ing Cambridge. He died at the 
embraced every opportunit}' on almshouse at an advanced age. 
' Muster Days' to don his old uni- 



MILITARY HISTORY. 



217 



1861. 

The first gun that spat its iron insult at Fort Sumter, 

Smote every loyal American in the face. — Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

On the twelfth of April, i86i, the bloody hand of Treason 
Avas lifted against our Nationality, by the bombardment of 
Fort Sumter, at Charleston, South Carolina. The Stars and 
Stripes, which had hitherto waved aloft so gloriously, and 
so triumphantly, were now lowered at the impious behests 
xDf Slavery, and were trailing in the dust. Great was the sur- 
prise, intense the interest, and mighty the indignation which 
the telegraphic announcement of the fact created throughout 
the length and breadth of our land. By this infamous act 
every loyal heart was insulted; and, at the reception of the 
news, every such heart was thrilled and stirred to its inmost 
recesses. 

By the insolent assertion of Jefferson Davis, on the i8th of 
February, i86i — when the Confederate Government was in- 
stituted at Montgomery, Ala., two weeks previous to the 
inauguration of President Lincoln'' — by the firing upon the 
"Star of the West," when on its errand of merc}^ three months 
before the assault on Fort Sumter — by the boast of the Con- 
federate Secretary of War, L. P. Walker, on the day of the 
bombardment,*^ by the treasonable and rebellious utterances 
of the Southern press'^ — by the seizure of arsenals, forts and 
other public property, to the amount of many millions of 
dollars — by all these acts it became painfully evident that 
sla\-ery had determined to break up this government, or 
commence a devastating civil war. 

By the attack upon the heroic band of patriots under Major 
Anderson, at P'ort Sumter, all hope of a peaceful settlement 



^ "The day of compromise is past, 
and those who now resist us shall 
smell Southern gunpowder and feel 
Southern steel." 

^ " No man can tell when the war 
this i\a\ commenced will end; ])ut 
I will prophecy that the flag which 
now flaunts the breeze here, will 
float over the dome of the old capi- 
tol at Washington before the first 
of May. Let them try Southern 
chivalry and test the extent of 



Southern resources, and it may 
float eventuall)' over P'aneuil Hall 
in Boston." 

" The Richmond Whig, with 
others, reiterated the threats of the 
vSecession leaders, saying, " From 
the mountain tops and valleys to 
the shore of the sea, there is one 
wild shout of firm resolve to cap- 
ture Washington City at all and 
every human effort. 



218 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

of the issue was extinguished; and, by its fall the mighty- 
energy of the North was aroused. 

" Like some old organ peal, 
Solemn and grand. 
The anthem of Freedom 
Sweeps through the land." 

One purpose seemed to spring into existence instantly, and 
animate every heart — a determination to maintain our national 
existence at any and all sacrifices. " Heart throbbed to hearty 
lip spoke to lip, with a oneness of feeling that seemed like a 
Divine inspiration." On the instant we saw a " noble and 
puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man from sleep, 
and shaking her invincible locks." And, when on the 15th of 
April, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, issued 
his Proclamation, convening an extra session of Congress, and 
calling upon the States for seventy-five thousand (75,000) 
troops to defend the capital and public property, the response 
was truly wonderful and glorious. 

The plough, the loom, the counting-house, the bar, the pulpit, all 
the avocations of ordinary life were abandoned ; men of all conditions 
and circumstances flew to arms in response to the call of the nation's 
chief magistrate. 1" 

Thanks to the foresight, thoughtfulness and energy of 
Governor Andrew, Massachusetts was ready at once to send 
her regiments to defend the flag at Washington. 

The first call upon Massachusetts for troops was by a 
telegram from Senator Wilson, April 15th, requesting twenty 
companies of militia to be sent immediately to Washington, 
and there mustered into service. Official requisition from the 
Secretary of War came later in the day. Governor Andrew at 
once issued his orders to the commanders of the Third, P\)urth, 
Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Regiments. On the 17th the Sixth 
Regiment was on its way, and on and l)efore nine o'clock of 
the next Sunday, the 21st — six da}'s only after the call was 
made — the Governor was enabled to say that "the whole 
number of regiments demanded from Massachusetts were 
already in Washington, or in P\)rtress Monroe, or on their way 
to the defence of the capital." And Edward P^verett, speaking 

^^ Histo}'y of the Old Sixtli Rcgi- in tJirce Campaigns, by Chaplain 
ment of ]\/assachnsctts Volunteers John W. Hanson. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 219 

at Roxbiiry a few da}'s later, said: "Wide as the summons has 
gone forth, it has been obeyed with an alacrity and unanimity 
that knew no parallel in our histor}' ; and the volunteers of 
Massachusetts have been the first in the field." 

History records very many pathetic and interesting facts 
and incidents connected with the assembling and going forth 
of these regiments, showing with what willing and cheerful 
obedience lucrative positions and professional pursuits were 
given up, that the country's honor might be saved. 

Like all the cities and towns throughout the loyal Norths 
Melrose realized the excitement and felt the danger as thor- 
oughly as any of them; but being then a small town, and 
having no military organizations, there was no immediate stir 
in our streets — no sound of fife and drum — nor the hurry and 
bustle consequent upon the gathering of military companies, 
that was experienced in larger communities; )-et its citizens 
were aroused, and we had several patriotic young men that at 
once buckled on the armor and moved to the scene of conflict. 
Four men enlisted in Co. B, Fifth Massachusetts Regiment, 
and one in Co. F, of the Fourth Regiment. Their names and 
those of all subsequent enlistments are in the alphabetical list 
at the end of this chapter. 

On the 3d of May, 1861, President Lincoln issued his second 
call for troops, which was for volunteers to serve for a period 
of three years, unless sooner discharged; and on the same day 
our Selectmen issued a warrant, calling a Town Meeting, to 
take place at Concert Hall, on the evening of May 6th. A 
very large and enthusiastic meeting was accordingly held, at 
which Charles F. Esty was chosen Moderator, and the follow- 
ing votes were passed unanimously: 

That the Town of Melrose appropriate the sum of Three Thousand 
dollars (#3000) for the relief of the families of the citizens of Melrose, 
now absent in the service of the United States, or who may hereafter 
volunteer into the service of the United States, or the State of Massa- 
chusetts. Also to aid volunteers of the town in their equipment, and 
to give such relief in the premises as the exigencies and necessities of 
each may require. 

Also that above all other appropriations the sum of Fifteen Dollars 
per month be paid to those persons having families and the sum of 
Ten Dollars per month to those who are single men, during their time 
of service in the war now pending. 

It was also voted: 



•220 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

That the Town Treasurer be authorized to borrow such sums of 
money as might be wanted from time to time to cover the appropria- 
tions then made; and that the Selectmen — Colonel John H. Clark, 
and Messrs. William B. Burgess and George M. Fletcher — constitute 
a committee to superintend the disbursements of the money thus 
appropriated. 

A stirring and patriotic speech was made by Napoleon B. 
Eryant, ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives of New 
Hampshire, then a resident of Melrose. 

As Melrose raised no whole company for any regiment, our 
men, as they enlisted, selected the regiment or battery in 
which they preferred to serve; consequently they were much 
scattered, and entered many different organizations before the 
war was ended. 

Our earliest enlistments were in the Second, Twelfth and 
Thirteenth Regiments of Infantry, mostly in the latter regi- 
ment. The nucleus of the Thirteenth Regiment was the Fourth 
Battalion of Rifles, into which our men enlisted when the Presi- 
dent issued his call for seventy-five thousand (75,000) troops, 
or immediately after the assault upon the Sixth Regiment in 
Baltimore, April 19th, and which was ordered to Fort Inde- 
pendence. As no more troops for a short term were wanted, 
the Batallion was recruited to a three years' regiment. On a 
Sunday evening, just before the regiment left for Washington, 
the soldiers belonging to Melrose met in the Baptist Church, 
when the pastor, Rev. James Cooper, presented to each one a 
Testament, accompanied by an address and prayer. On a fly- 
leaf of each Testament was written, besides the name, the 
words " God and our Country." 

Another call for volunteers to serve for three years, or 
during the war, was made by the President in July, and our 
-citizens continued to enlist during that and the succeeding 
months of that year in the various infantry and cavalry regi- 
ments then forming and recruiting. 

Melrose was represented in the following organizations: the 
Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-sec- 
ond, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth, 
and Thirty-second Massachusetts Regiments, and the Ninety- 
ninth New York Regiment; also the Second, Third, Fourth 
and Fifth Batteries; also the First Cavalry Regiment. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 221 

1862. 

On the first day of July, 1862, President Lincoln issued his 
third Proclamation, callin.<>- for troops, the Governors of eigh- 
teen loyal states havins^ joined in an address to him, sug^^est- 
ing the necessity of so doing. This call was for three hundred 
thousand (300,000) volunteers, to serve for three years, or 
until the end of the war. These were to form new regiments 
and batteries, and fill up the depleted ranks of those then in 
the service. 

The nation had passed through a year of successes and 
reverses, and this new call came just at the" time of the dis- 
heartening result of the campaign before Richmond, when 
Gen. McClellan and his army were falling back to Harrison's 
Landing, on the James River. 

The proportion of the three hundred thousand (300,000) 
men assigned to Massachusetts was fifteen thousand (15,000). 
The quota of Melrose was thirty-seven (37) men. On the 
evening of July 14th, immediately after the promulgation of 
this order, a war meeting was held in Lyceum Hall, at which 
Col. John H. Clark was cho.en Moderator, and Thomas 
Shelton, Secretary. Patriotic speeches were made and it was 
determined to raise the quota of M( Irose at once. 

A proposition was submitted to the meeting by Rufus Smith, 
of the following tenor, viz: — That enough of the citizens of 
the town to fill the quota, then and there pledge themselves 
either to enlist, or furnisli substitutes. 

The following gentlemen gave their names, agreeing to abide 
by the proposition. The fir.st four proposed to furnish two- 
substitutes each, the rest one: 

Rufus Smith, Theodore L. Knowles, 

George *VV. Heath, George Emerson, 2d, 

David Fairbanks, Moses Parker, M. 1)., 

F'rank A. Messenger, R. Watson PLmerson, 

Napoleon B. l^ryant, Elbridge H. Goss. 

George A. Bacon, Thomas C. Evans, 

Charles H. Isbiirgh, Anthony Crosb\ , 

John VV. Fairbanks, George VV. Emerson, 

Isaac Emerson, Jr., Daniel Russell. 

Sums ranging from twenty to fifty dollars each were paid 
for these substitutes, in addition to the bounty of one hundred 



222 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

dollars voted to be paid by the town, at a meeting held two 
weeks later, July 28th, as follows: 

Voted: That the sum of thirty-seven hundred dollars ($3,700) be 
raised to pay thirty-seven (37) able-bodied men who shall voluntarily 
enlist in the service of the United States under the recent call 
of the President of the United States for three hundred thousand 
(300,000) men ; and that the Selectmen be authorized to disburse one 
hundred dollars ($100) to each man who shall enlist, as soon as he 
shall have been accepted by the military authorities of this State, 
and mustered into said service. 

It was also 

Voted: That the sum of two hundred dollars ($200) be raised to aid 
the cause of enlistment, to be disbursed by a committee chosen at this 
meeting, in such manner as said committee deem best. 

This committee consisted of Col. John H. Clark, William B. 
Burgess and George M. Fletcher, Selectmen, and Elbridge 
Gardner, Isaac Emerson, Jr., and John VV. Fairbanks. 

Encouraging and patriotic speeches were made by several 
of our citizens. In order to encourage and obtain enlistments, 
Henry A. Norris offered to pay the sum of fifty dollars (^50) 
to the first five men who should enlist at this time. 

Daniel W. Wilcox offered to pay the sum of ten dollars 
($10) each to the next ten men that should enlist from our 
town; and Napoleon B. Bryant agreed to pay the sum of ten 
dollars ($10) each to all others who should sign the enlist- 
ment roll on that evening. 

With these extra inducements a number of our young men 
enlisted at this time, the first one to sign his name to the roll 
being William Francis Barry. 

Another meeting was held August 2d, when other patriotic 
addresses were made, and sufificient enlistments were then 
made to more than fill our required quota. Those who enlisted 
during this call went into the Eleventh, Thirty-third, Thirty- 
eighth and Thirty-ninth Regiments, the First Heavy Artillery, 
Ninth and Thirteenth Batteries, and the Second and Third 
Cavalry Regiments. 

The following vote pertaining to the welfare of our soldiers, 
was passed in the earlier part of this year. March 31, 1862, 
the town voted : 



MILITARY HISTORY. 223 

To raise the sum of Twenty-Five Hundred Dollars for the aid of the 
families of Volunteers as provided in Chapter 222, of the Acts of 1861. 

On the 4th of August, 1862, President Lincoln issued bis 
proclamation calling for three hundred thousand (300,000) 
more troops, to serve for nine months; a draft to be made if 
the quotas were not filled by volunteers by the 15th of August. 

The proportion assigned by the War Department to Massa- 
chusetts was nineteen thousand and eighty (19,080) men. 
The quota of Melrose was seventy-nine (79) men. Several 
spirited war meetings were held, when addresses were made by 
citizens and others, and in a short time this quota was also 
filled. 

A Town Meeting was held August 21, when the following 
action was taken. It was voted: 

That the Town raise an amount of money equal or equivalent to the 
sum of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150) per man, for every man 
who is, or who may be required from this Town to answer to the 
recent call of the President of the United States for additional troops 
for nine months' service, to serve in the army of the United States; 
and that the Treasurer is authorized and required, under the direction 
of the Selectmen, to borrow that amount of money and pay the same 
to such parties who may volunteer, and are properly and legally 
accepted by the proper and legal authorities for such service. 

It was also voted: 

That a Rallying Committee of twent}'-five men be appointed by the 
chairman of this meeting, with full powers to call meetings and per- 
form such other duties as they may deem necessary; and that an 
appropriation of three hundred dollars ($300) for incidental expenses 
be made by the Town, to be expended under the direction of said 
committee. 

The following citizens Avere appointed to serve on that com- 
mittee: 

Rufus Smith, R. Watson Emerson, 

Nelson Cochran, Frank A. Messenger, 

Michael A. McCafferty. Napoleon B. Bryant, 

Moses Parker, M. D., Isaac Emerson, Jr., ' 

Samuel O. Dearborn, Joel Snow, 

Henry A. Norris, George W. Emerson, 

Henry B. Newhall, Philip B. Holmes, 

Fernando C. Taylor, Levi S. Gould, 

John S. Sewall, Walter Babb, 



224 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Daniel Norton, Jr., Allen C. Goss, 

Josiah P. Mendum, Addison W. Banfield, 

George A. Bacon, Isaiah A. Young, 

Stephen W. Shelton. 

The Selectmen were afterwards joined to this committee. 
Owing to the measures taken at these various meetings the fol- 
lowing document — whereby the signers agreed to pay their 
just proportion of all taxes, and to indemnify all town officers 
for any action taken in carrying out the wishes of the town — 
was circulated for signatures: 

AGREEMENT. 

Be it remembered, that whereas the Town of Melrose, at several 
meetings called for that ]puipose, have, with great unanimity, passed 
sundry votes providing for the payment of bounty to our volunteers, 
and for the support of their families, and other incidental war pur- 
poses, which votes may, upon nice and technical grounds, be regarded 
as invalid in law, — Now, therefore, we the undersigned. Tax-payers in 
the Town of Melrose, hereby waive all objections to the form, sub- 
stance, or validity of said proceedings; and agree to pay all taxes 
assessed against us respectively arising from said votes. 

And we severally hereby release any present or future officer of said 
Town from all actions, or causes of action, on account of the assess- 
ment or collection of the aforesaid tax ; all of which we feel in duty 
bound to do, as true and loyal citizens, resolved to make any sacrifice 
necessary for the most vigorous prosecution of the war, and for the 
honor and dignity of our glorious flag. 

The nine months' volunteers, most of whom were our own 
citizens, enlisted in the Fifth, Forty-second, Forty-third, Forty 
fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-eighth and Fiftieth Regiments. 

The total quota of Melrose to this date, of three years and 
nine months' men, was one hundred and eighty-four (184) and 
the town had furnished two hundred and ten (210) men for 
those periods of service. 

On the 22d of September of this year — 1862 — was issued the 
great Proclamation by President Lincoln, declaring that the 
slaves of all persons in states which, on the first day of Janu- 
ary, 1863, should be in rebellion, "shall be henceforth and 
forever free." 

1863. 

At a Town Meeting held March 30, 1863, it was voted: 



MILITARY HISTORY. 225 

That the Poll-Tax of all the Soldiers in the field from this town 
during the ensuing year be abated, and all who from wounds or dis- 
ability have been discharged from the service of the United States. 

June 9, it was voted: 

That the Selectmen be authorized to set apart a portion of the new 
Cemetery [Wyoming] for the use of those soldiers engaged in the 
present war, and the families of such soldiers as may choose to use the 
same. 

An Enrollment or Conscription Act having been passed by 
Congress, March 3, 1863, for the purpose of recruiting the force 
in the field, and making up deficiences on the calls previously 
made, a new enrollment of the men liable to do military duty 
was ordered, and a draft of such enrolled men to be made in 
July, 1863. 

These Enrolled men were divided into two classes. The 
first class comprised all persons subject to do military duty 
between the ages of twenty and thirty-five years, and all un- 
married persons subject to do military duty between thirty- 
five and forty-five years. The second class comprised the 
married men who were subject to do military duty and were 
more than thirty-five, but under forty-five years of age. This 
draft was to be made from the enrolled of the first class. The 
quota of Massachusetts on this last call, was found to be fifteen 
thousand one hundred and twenty-six (15,126) men; and that 
of Melrose to be twenty-four (24) men. 

On the 25th of May, Provost-Marshal Herrick appointed 
Stephen Shelton "Enrolling Officer for Sub-District No. 9, 
Town of Melrose." By this enrollment it was ascertained that 
there were in our town, at this time, exclusive of those then in 
the service, one hundred and sixty-two (162) persons of the 
first class, and one hundred and twenty-one (121) of the sec- 
ond class. 

Under this law, and by direction of Provost-Marshal General 
James B. Fry, four drafts were made throughout the loyal 
States during the Rebellion. The first commenced about the 
first of July, 1863, and was for one-fifth of the persons enrolled 
in the first class. The second commenced about the 15th of 
April, 1864, and was for deficiencies under calls for seven 
hundred thousand (700,000) volunteers. The third com- 
menced about the 19th of September, 1864, for deficiencies 
under call of July 18, 1864, for five hundred thousand (500,000) 



226 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

volunteers. The fourth commenced about the 20th of Febru- 
ary, 1865, for deficiencies under call of December 19, 1864, for 
three hundred thousand (300,000) volunteers. 

Captain H. G. Herrick, of Saugus, was appointed Provost- 
Marshal for this district, and his headquarters were at Law- 
rence; and on the days of drafting, busy and interesting scenes 
were presented at his ofifice, there being a great desire 
manifested during the progress of the draft, to witness the 
operation, and to ascertain who were the unlucky ones whose 
names should be taken from the wheel of — not fortune, but, 
to them, of — misfortune. 

The first draft in this district commenced July gth, and 
Melrose — Sub-District No. 9 — was reached July 13th. Forty- 
nine (49) names were drawn from the wheel. The provisions 
of the act were such that any person drafted, if found accept- 
able, could be exempted from service by furnishing a substi- 
tute, or paying three hundred dollars (S300) commutation. 

The following persons were drafted: 

Furnished substitutes: 

Jonathan C. Howes, Henr\^ W. Barrett, 

George W. Emerson. 

Paid commutation: 
William F. Gordon, Joseph A. Fairbanks, 

Osgood W. Upham, Charles Robbins. 

The rest were exempted for various causes: 

Nathaniel J. Bartlett, William Donalavy, 

Richard H. Shelton, Stephen W. Shelton, 

William H. Stone, James Astle, 

Charles E. Keith, Joseph Goodwin, 

Curtis S. Gordon, Daniel L. Chase, 
Frederick W. A. Rankin, Jr., William Cook, 

Jonathan Barrett, James W. Dodge, 

Elbridge H. Goss, Lucius L. D. Porter, 

William F. Morse, Charles A. Waite, 

Moses S. Page, Lewis H. Richardson, 

Albert F. Shelton, Andrew P. Trott, 

Oren Brown, Leander T. Freeman, 

Theodore L. Knowles, Walter Babb, 

Charles H. Blaisdell, Edmund W. Davis, 



MILITARY HISTORY. 227 

John H. B. Henderson, William A. Fuller, 

Oren H. Peck, William Morse, 

Joseph S. Emerson, John L. Alien, 

John Thompson, Joshua Emery, Jr., 

John H. Crocker, Bradford Edmands, 

Augustus L. Cheever, George W. Grover, Jr., 

Edward Finnegan, George Hammond. 

The enlisted men that entered the service at this time, went 
into the Fifteenth, Fift)'-fourth, Fifty-sixth and Fifty-ninth 
Regiments, and the Third and Fourth Heavy Artillery Regi- 
ments. The citizens of Melrose were determined that another 
draft should be avoided if possible; and, although others did 
take place later, they were of no avail, as, owing to strenuous 
efforts put forth our quotas were kept full. 

At a Town Meeting held November 3, 1863, it was voted: 

That the Selectmen be instructed to call a meeting at an early day 
(as can be) to see if the Town will borrow the sum of — dollars to be 
used as the Selectmen, with a Committee of four added to their number, 
may deem expedient in aiding the recruiting of twenty-four men, the 
quota of Melrose under the late call of the President for three hundred 
thousand (300,000) Volunteers, and also to authorize the Treasurer to 
borrow the same. 

November 14, Stephen W. Shelton, Isaac Emerson, Jr., 
Rufus Smith and Charles H. Isburgh were appointed on that 
committee, and three thousand dollars ($3,000) appropriated 
for their use. At this same meeting it was voted: 

To oj^en a subscription list to raise a fund to provide all families of 
Volunteers from Melrose, now in service, with means to provide for 
them such a Thanksgiving Dinner as they are most deservedly en- 
titled to. 

It was also voted : 

That the Committee chosen at this meeting be a permanent Com- 
mittee to look after the interests of families of Volunteers who are now 
or may be hereafter in the service of the United States and see that 
they are properly provided for. 

1864-5. 

At the annual Town Meeting in March 1864, it was voted "to 

continue State Aid to families of Soldiers as provided by the 

Laws of the Commonwealth;" also to excuse Isaac Emerson, 

Jr., from serving longer on the Recruiting Committee, and 



228 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

William E. Fuller was elected Selectman in place of George 
M. Fletcher; and the Recruiting Committee now consisted of 
the following gentlemen: Col. John H. Clark, chairman, and 
Recruiting Agent — by appointment of Pro\^ost-Marshal Her- 
rick — William B. Burgess, William E. Fuller, Stephen W, 
Shelton, Rufus Smith and Charles H. Isburgh. At a subse- 
quent meeting held April II, it was \'oted that this same Re- 
cruiting Committee continue its labors, and four thousand 
dollars ($4,000) were appropriated for its use. This commit- 
tee acted throughout the continuance of the war; and by its 
spirited and strenuous exertions — and of the committee as pre- 
viously constituted — no other draft was ever needed in order 
to fill our several quotas under the calls of the President,, 
issued in October, 1863, and February, March, July and Decem- 
ber, 1S64, in which calls a million and a half of men were asked 
for. A second draft was made, of the enrolled men, in April,. 
1864, but none of the drafted were required to report, as the 
quotas were then filled. 

The citizens drawn at that time were as follows: 

John Thompson, William Donalavy, 

Samuel A. Robinson, Joseph Goodwin, 

Alonzo Patterson, William F. Paul, 

William A. Fuller, George W. Farnsworth, 

W'illiam Clark, Augustus Ripley, 

Lyell T. Terwilleger, Jar\-is P. Hudson, 

James Biffin, John Perkins, Jr., 

Fernando C. Taylor, Timothy Upham, 

David A. Alden, John H. L. Anderson, 

Gardner Wheeler, Sylvanus Magoon, 

Joseph Holbrook, Edward B. Newhall, 

Thomas Hawkins, Daniel R. Woodward. 

Various measures were taken to aid the Recruiting Com- 
mittee in its efforts to procure men, with which to fill our 
different quotas. June 6, 1864, a Town Meeting was held at 
which it was voted: 

That the Town of Melrose appropriate the sum of ten thousand 
dollars (| 10,000) for the purpose of procuring recruits for any future 
calls there may be made by the President of the United States for 
soldiers, and to make up any deficiencies that there is, or has occurred,. 
in the last call for volunteers ; and that the present Recruiting Com- 
mittee of the Town of Melrose proceed immediately to recruit or pro- 



MILITARY HISTORY. 229 

cure men in anticipation of the next call, or calls, that may be made 
by the President of the United States. And that the Selectmen be 
instructed to procure the bodies of all those of our citizen soldiers who 
have or may lose their lives in this war, and have them transported to 
their relatives or friends ; 

and it was also voted: 

That the Town Treasurer be instructed to borrow, from time to 
time, such sums of money as might be required of the amount 
appropriated. 

The raising of money for this purpose, in this manner, was 
illegal, as the Legislature of Massachusetts had provided, by 
the act of March i6, 1864, that cities and towns might raise 
money by taxation, or otherwise, for the purpose of procuring 
volunteers, and pay to each one enlisted into the service as a 
part of the quota of said cities and towns, a sum not exceeding 
one hundred and twenty-five dollars (5125). 

A petition was drawn up, signed by thirty-four citizens, and 
presented to the Supreme Judicial Court, asking for an injunc- 
tion on the proceedings at the above Town Meeting. Such an 
injunction was issued by Chief Justice George T. Bigelow, 
June II, 1864. This was afterwards so far modified as to 
permit the paying of one hundred and twenty-five dollars 
(S125) by the Recruiting Committee, to each recruit enlisted 
and accepted by the United States authorities under any call 
of the President made between the first day of March, 1864, 
and the first day of March, 1865, as a part of the quota of the 
Town of Melrose under said calls. 

At this time recruits for the army cost a larger sum than one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars (^125); therefore a citizens' 
meeting was called, to take into consideration the best manner 
of raising a sum of money, as a recruiting fund, to aid the 
committee in the furnishing of men for our quotas. It was 
decided to raise the same by subscription; and at a subsequent 
meeting the following gentlemen were appointed a committee 
to solicit subscriptions: Wingate P. Sargent, Daniel Norton, 
Jr., Levi S. Gould, Isaac Emerson, Jr., Thomas A. Long and 
Joseph t). Wilde. Mr. Sargent was appointed treasurer, and 
after the collections were made, nearly six thousand dollars 
(;?6,ooo) the money was paid over to Colonel Clark, as chair- 
man of the Recruiting Committee. The names of the sub- 
scribers to this fund, and the amounts paid, are as follows: 



230 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Wingate P Sargent, 
Daniel Norton, Jr., 
Rufus Smith, . . 
Alverse L. White, 
Isaac Emerson, Jr., 
Wickham C. McNish 
Samuel E. Sewall, 
Daniel W. Gooch, 
Daniel W. Foster, 
Samuel S. Houghton 
Joseph D. Wilde, . 
Elisha F. Sears, 
Ralph Warren, 
Charles H. Isburgh, 
George A. .Mansfield, 
Nathaniel J. Bartlett, 
George G. Wheeler, 
Jeremiah Crowley, 
William H. Allen, 
Edgar M. Stevens, 
Devi S. Gould, 
Ira H. Bickford, . 
Frank O. Dame, . 
George Hart, . . 
William F. Morse, 
Oliver Whyte, 
Gardner Wheeler, 
Walter Littlefield, Jr 
Henry A. Norris, 
Napoleon B. Bryant, 
Andrew P. Trott, 
R. Watson Emerson, 
Augustus Barrett, 
John Baldwin, 
Joseph H. Greene, 
William H. Stone, 
Simeon Locke, 
Alonzo V. Lyude, 
George Emerson, 
George V. Stone, 
Frank A. Messenger, 
Oren H. Peck, . . 
Joseph A. Fairbanks, 
George M. Fletcher, 
S. W. Heald, . . 
James M. Beckett, 
Edward R. Knights, 
John L. Allen, 
Jarvis P. Hudson, 
Albert P. Perkins, 



I250 

130 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

80 

75 

75 

75 

75 

75 

75 

60 

50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
45 
40 

30 
30 
30 
30 
30 
25 
25 



ThomasA. Long, 
Erastus F\ Bradford, 
Benjamin F. Greene, 
George N. Noyes, 
Dr. George Macomber, 
Joel Bowker, 
Charles H. Blaisdell, 
Daniel Jefferson, . 
Dr. Moses, .... 
Allen C.Goss, . . . 
Fernando C. Taylor, 
Joseph E. Westgate, 
James A. Barrett, . 
George C. Sargent, 
Samuel S. Bugbee, 
Anthony Crosby, . 
John H.Clark, . . 
George Newhall, . 
William O. Lyude, 
Charles Larrabee, 
John S. Higgins, . 
John Shelton, . 
C. Edgar Buffum, 
Henry A. Leonard, 
Rufus Leavitt, . . 
Robert J. Chute, . 
Obadiah S. Edgerly, 
Sargent F. Severence 
Liberty Bigelow, . 
John Conway, Jr., 
Jonathan Barrett, 
Charles Boardman, 
John W. Cobb, . . 
Elbridge Gardner, 
Peter Edgerly, . 
Jeremiah Martin, . 
Horatio N. Perkins, 
George F. Boardman 
Josiah P. Mendum, 
Stephen Shelton. . 
Lewis G. Coburn, . 
Frederick W. A. Rank 
Thomas J. Kimball, 
John S. Sewall, . 
Elbridge H. Goss, 
John W. Tower, 
George R. Forsythe 
P. Russell Ellis, . 
Sylvanus Upham, 
Charles F'urneaux, 



I25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
Jr-> 25 
25 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 



MILITARY HISTORY. 



231 



Edward B. Nevvhall, , 
John Smith, . . , 
Nelsou Cochran, , . 
John W. Buttrick, 
Daniel O. Morton, 
Leonard Lynde, . . 
Henry B. Nevvhall, . 
Artemas Barrett, . . 
George W. Bartlett, . 
Robert W. Pierce, 
George W. Pollock, . 
George B. Sargeut, . 
Caleb Howard, . 
Christopher Kirmes, 
Joseph Mclntire, . . 
James Astle, . . . 
John L. Andrews, . . 
William F. Poole, 
Lyell T. Terwilleger, 
Alfred W. Sprague, . 
William H. Wells, . 
George A. Chipman, . 
Isaiah A. Young, . . 
Benjamin Underwood, 
Charles A. Messenger, 
Walter Babb, . . . 
Solomon Severy, . . 
John Q. Adams, . . 
Alonzo Patterson, 
Samuel O. Dearborn, 
Peter Batchelder, 
Joel Atwood, . . . 
George C. Stantial, . 
Thomas W. Chadbourne 
Asa H. Jones, . . . 
Samuel M. Tourtellot, 
George Hem m in way, 
Samuel Barker, . . 
Martin Ellis, . . . 
Walter R. Collins, , 
William B. Burgess, . 
Charles E. Keith, 
Samuel F. Summers, 
John Robsou, . . . 
Dr. Benjamin F. Abbott 
William W. Vaughn, 
G. W. Gilraan, . . . 
Calvin Stone, . . . 
William D. Stratton, 
Sullivan C. Atwood, . 



|20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

14 

10 

10 

10 

10 

ID 
ID 
10 
10 
10 
ID 
10 
ID 
ID 



Calvin N. Chapin, 
Hiram D. Richardson, 
Azel E. Steele, . . 
Elbridge Green, . . 
Benjamin Roach, . . 
Charles P. Lynde, 
Rev. Nathan P. Selee, 
James S. Sturtevant, 
William M. Gilmore, 
James Small, . . 
Alvin Lynde, . . 
William Clark, 
J. B. Daniels, . . 
Lawrence K. Munn, 
Charles F. Bowker, 
Moses A. Noyes, . 
Addison Lane, . . 
Edmund B. Little, 
William L. Pierce, 
Royal P. Barry, 
Lewis H. Richardson 
Jabez G. Hayward, 
Francis Fountain, 
George Sargent, 
Dexter Pratt, . . 
George C. Brown, 
Dr. Abel Astle, 
George Lynde, 
Josiah H. Barker, . 
Martin B. Loring, 
J. T. Marcy, . . 
George W. Fisher, 
Albert A. Gould, . 
Benjamin R. Walker 
Augustus Brooks, . 
William Finnegan, 
Dennis Finnegan, 
Joseph C. Bowker, 
Emery Close, . . 
Ansel B. Pierce, 
George Woodward, 
John Hurley, . . 
Edward Moore, 
Thomas Cowhey, . 
Thomas Freeman, 
Solomon L. Howes, 
Paschal E. Burnham, 
John P. Buttrick, . 
E. B. Southwick, . 
Henry Robinson, . 



|io 

ID 
10 
ID 
10 
ID 
10 
ID 
ID 
ID 
ID 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
ID 
10 
10 
ID 
10 
10 
5 
5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 



232 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Charles F. Upham, . 


$5 


Robert Wheeler, 


. I5 


Jasper F. Ferdinand, 


5 


William A. Lamson, . 


5 


John Gately, . . . 


5 


Aaron Green, 


5 


Ai Rowe, 


5 


Oliver T. Wentworth, 


3 


Walter Murphy, . . 


5 


Reuben T. Haley, 


3 


Henry J. Robinson, . 


5 


Nathaniel Howard, . 


3 


Daniel Conway, . . 


5 


Samuel D. Blanchard, 


2 


Joel Snow, .... 


5 








Carlon Buffum, . . 


5 


Total amount, . . . 


I5.65O 


Osmore Jenkins, . . 


5 







With the above amount, so liberally contributed by our 
citizens, the recruiting committee was enabled to obtain all 
the men required to fill our several quotas, by adding to the 
amount paid to each recruit by the town — one hundred and 
twenty-five dollars, (^125) — whatever sum was necessary; the 
average cost of a recruit at this time, in addition to the State 
and United States bount^^ being about two hundred and fifty 
dollars (S250). 

Very few of our own citizens enlisted during the last year of 
the war, although quite a number that were already in the 
service re-enlisted; such re-enlistments counting on our quotas 
the same as new enlistments. 

On the third and fourth drafts, there were no names drawn 
in Massachusetts, her quotas being more than full. 

During the year 1864, an arrangement was made, by which 
any person liable to do military duty could, in anticipation of 
the draft then pending, furnish a substitute. Four of our citi- 
zens availed themselves of this privilege, paying for their sub- 
stitutes sums ranging from fi\e hundred and seventy-fi\'e to 
seven hundred dollars. In this manner men were added to our 
forces in the field, and our quota was reduced to an equal 
extent. George P^merson, 2d, George W. Heath, James O. 
Lynde and Daniel W. Wilcox thus furnished substitutes. 

During the latter part of this year, 1864, Massachusetts and 
some .other loyal States sent recruiting agents into the rebel- 
lious States, at points occupied b\' our forces, for the purpose 
of enlisting colored \'olunteers, under the Act of Congress ap- 
proved July 4, 1864. 

An arrangement was also made by which any person not 
liable to be drafted into the military service of the United 
States, by reason of age or disability, could deposit with the 
treasurer of the State in which such person resided, the sum of 
one hundred and twenty-fi\'e dollars (S125), and be assigned 



MILITARY HISTORY. 233 

-one of the volunteers thus enlisted, such volunteer to be called 
a " Representative Recruit." The recruits thus obtained, and 
not assigned as " Representative Recruits," were apportioned 
among the various towns and cities of the Commonwealth for 
which the enlistments were made. 

Three citizens of our town availed themselves of this privi- 
lege of putting into the service a "Representative Recruit," 
receiving from the State a certificate signed by the Governor, 
John A. Andrew, and Provost-Marshal Joseph M. Day, giving 
the names of the "sable volunteers" thus assigned them. The 
names of these three gentlemen were: David Fairbanks, 
Daniel Russell and Dexter Bryant. 

In July, 1864, the Secretary of War made a requisition upon 
Massachusetts for five militia regiments, to serve for the period 
of one hundred days, during the time the re-enlisting troops 
were having their furloughs. These men were not to be 
■credited to the quota of Massachusetts, but it was conceded 
that whoever should serve for this length of time should not be 
liable to the draft then pending. Twenty men enlisted from 
Melrose in four different regiments; the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth 
and the Sixtieth. During this same year Massachusetts sent 
into the field thirteen unattached companies of infantry, into 
one of which, the Seventh, Melrose sent seven men; also one 
man into the Sixty-first Regiment which was organized to 
serve for one year. 

Melrose was also well represented in the na\al service. July, 
.4, 1864, Congress passed an act allowing all men in the service 
to be credited on their proper quotas. Those whose place of 
residence could be ascertained were assigned to their several 
cities and towns. There were seven thousand six hundred and 
five (7,605) men whose places of residence could not be ascer- 
tained; and of these twenty-eight were assigned to the quota of 
Melrose; and thirteen of her own citizens served in the navy. 

The whole number of men furnished by Melrose for the war, 
for the several terms of service, of all arms, including both 
army and navy, and including the eight (8) citizens who 
■enlisted on other cjuotas, was four hundred and fifty-four (454)- 
Of these twenty-one (21) enlisted men lost their lives; five (5) 
were killed on the battle-field, one (i) was accidentally shot; 
thirteen (13) died of disease contracted in the service, and 
two (2) died in rebel prisons. 



234 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The number of commissioned officers furnished by Melrose 
was eighteen (i8); two (2) of whom lost their lives, one (i) 
on the field of battle, and one (i) died of disease contracted 
in the service. 

The following letter will show, taking into consideration the 
population and wealth of Melrose, that the town furnished a 
larger proportion of men for service during this Great Rebel- 
lion, than most other towns and cities: 

Provost-Marshal's Office, 
6th District, Mass., 
Lawrence, December 31, 1864. 
This is to certify that, as appears by the records of this ofliice, the 
surplus of the Town of Melrose, over all calls, is seventy-four (74) men. 

H. G. Herrick, 
Captain and Provost-Marshal, 6th Dist. Mass. 

Relief of Soldiers and their Families. In all the 
cities and towns of the Commonwealth, large contributions of 
money, clothing, and other articles, were being made during 
the entire period of the war. In many, in most of these cities 
and towns, there was one or more organized societies for the 
disbursement of these contributions. Melrose had no such 
regularly organized association, although much was done for 
the benefit of the soldier and his family by the town and by 
individuals. Of the unnumbered pri\ate donations of money, 
of boxes and packages of soldiers' necessities and luxuries,, 
sent by patriotic mothers and sisters, who can fully estimate 
their value, or the benefit derived therefrom? 

The generous sympathy and munificent gifts, not only of 
our own citizens, but of the entire people, for the soldiers and 
their cause, were wonderful. These gifts were 

from every department of social, business and religious life ; from 
every age, sex and condition of our community ; by gifts, by toil, by 
skill and handiwork; out of the basket and the store, and out of the 
full hearts of the community, they have poured through countless 
channels of benevolence. 

As an instance of this hearty generosity, only one of many; 
nine car-loads of hospital stores left Boston after the battles of 
Groveton, Second Bull Run and Chantilly, which ended the 
campaign under Major-Gencral John Pope. 

In addition to the appropriation of three thousand dollars 
(^3,000) appropriated at the first war Town Meeting, May 6,. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 235 

i86i,an appropriation of twenty-five hundred dollars (§2,500) 
was made at the annual Town Meeting held in March, 1862, 
for the same purpose, to aid the families of volunteers, as pro- 
vided by Chapter 222, Statutes of 1861, wherein it was enacted 
that the State should reimburse the cities and towns, to a cer- 
tain amount per family, the sums thus paid; and regularly, at 
each annual Town Meeting, during the continuance of the war, 
a vote of similar import was unanimously passed. 

Other votes passed by the town, for kindred purposes have 
been given in previous pages. 

In July, 1862, at the solicitation of William F. Poole, a sub- 
scription of three hundred and forty dollars ($340) was made 
by the following gentlemen, for the 

puipose of promoting recruiting in Melrose ; for equalizing the boun- 
ties of those patriotic citizens who have already enlisted ; and for the 
benefit of the families which the quota from Melrose shall leave be- 
hind them : 

Samuel E. Sewall, . . $75 Philip B. Holmes, . . $25 

Andrew J. Morse, . . 50 Lewis G. Coburn, . . 25 

John S. Higgins, . . 50 William F. Poole, . . 25 

Daniel W. Gooch, . . 50 Charles Kastner, . . 10 

George W. Heath, . . 50 

This amount was disbursed, mostly in aid of the families of 
volunteers, by the treasurer of the fund, Andrew J. Morse. 

Guiding Star Lodge, No. 28, L O. of G. T., sent to the seat 
of war, on two different occasions during the years 1861 and 
1862, a box and barrel of general hospital stores, blankets, 
reading matter, etc. At different times, a number of contribu- 
tions were taken up in our various churches in aid of those 
wonderful monuments of the free-will offerings of the loyal 
North, the "Christian" and "Sanitary Commissions." 

The Orthodox Congregational Church sent three hundred 
thirty dollars and six cents ($330.06), besides eighty-five dol- 
lars and twenty cents ($85.20) contributed for the benefit of 
sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals at Washington, 
which amount was sent to and distributed by Mrs. Gooch — 
wife of Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, then our Representative in 
Congress from this District — whose visits and kindnesses will 
long be remembered by many a soldier. The Universalist 
Church contributed fifty dollars ($50) to the "Sanitary Com- 
mission," besides sending several boxes of articles suitable 



■236 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

for the sick and disabled soldiers in Washington. These were 
5ent to and distributed by Mrs. Emma Nichols Marden. The 
Methodist, Episcopal and Baptist Churches, also contributed 
generously to the same object, but no record was made of the 
amount. Eighty-seven dollars (S87) was paid into the treas- 
ury of the "Christian Commission," the proceeds of a concert 
given under the auspices of John H. B. Henderson. 

During the first year of the war, many of our ladies met in 
Lyceum Hall, a number of days in succession, for the purpose 
of making and collecting garments and articles of all kinds 
suitable for the sick and wounded soldiers in our hospitals. 
A large collection of comforts and luxuries was thus made, 
forwarded and distributed. 

Barrels, boxes and bundles of such necessary articles, in- 
cluding garments, hospital stores, reading matter, etc., were 
also collected at later times in the war by some of our public- 
spirited and patriotic ladies, and forwarded to either the 
"Christian" or "Sanitary Commissions." 

The late Rev. John C. Ingalls spent the winters of 1861, '62 
and '63, in Washington, D. C; and on one occasion, during this 
time, he raised the sum of twelve hundred dollars (Si, 200) in 
the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Portland, for 
the sick and wounded soldiers at the Emory Hospital in 
Washington, He also acted as chaplain of this hospital for a 
number of weeks, without pay, during the sickness of the regu- 
lar chaplain. Besides which, he raised the money for build- 
ing a chapel for the use of this same hospital. 

Of the two hundred and three (203) Melrose citizens who 
ser\-ed in the ranks of our army and nav\' during the Civil 
War, 

who helped open the Mississippi, who were present at Vicksburg, Port 
Hudson, New Orleans and Mobile, who saw the starry flag as it 
ascended Missionary Ridge, and witnessed the flight of Bragg and 
his host; who marched from Atlanta to the sea, and who were among 
those who so long struggled between Washington and Richmond, and 
"who at last saw the rebel flag go down upon the Appomattox, 

twenty-three (23) of them, or about one in nine, were cither 
killed on the battle-field or died in consequence of services 
rendered in the great contest. Six (6) were killed by the 
bullet on the field, and the rest died in camp, in hospital, in 
rebel prisons, or after returning to their homes. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 23T 

Two (2) commissioned officers and twenty-one (21) enlisted 
men constitute the oblation made by Melrose to Treason! 

For memoirs and biographical sketches of the " unreturninf^ 
brave," those that suffered in rebel prisons, and other informa- 
tion, experiences and anecdotes connected with the history of 
our soldiers, see pages 138 to 243 of the Melrose Memorial; also- 
16 pages of collateral information in the Appendix. 



238 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



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HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



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MILITARY HISTORY. 243 



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244 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



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MILITARY HISTORY. 



245 



The Minute Men of i86i. The Legislature of 1902 passed 
a "Resolve to provide for Medals for the Massachusetts 
Minute Men of 1861," appropriating ^3,000 to be expended 
under the direction of the Adjutant General for medals to be 
given to all those officers and men, who responded to the first 
call for troops, by President Lincoln, April 15, 1861. The 
organizations into which these men went were the Third, 
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Regiments, the Third Ikittal- 
ion and the First Battery of Light Artillery. In case of death 
the medal is to be presented to some heir or representative of 
the deceased. 

Melrose had five such respondents: George W. Batchclder, 
Gurdon McKay, Thomas Smith and William Wyman in the 
Fifth Regiment, and Seth Morrison in the Fourth. 





OBVERSE. 



REVERSE. 



The medal bears this inscription, the name of the recipient 
being engraved on its edge: 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To the Members of the 
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia who were mustered into the United 
States Service in response to President Lincoln's First call for Troops, 
April 15, 1 861. 

On the bar: 

Massachusetts Minute Men, 1861. 



246 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Battery C. During the autumn of 1873, Battery C, Sec- 
ond Battalion Light Artillery, then commanded by the late 
Col. Clark B. Baldwin, was removed from Maiden to Melrose. 
After occupying temporary quarters for a while, Henry A. 
Leonard erected a large and commodious armory building for 
its accommodation on Dell Avenue, into which the Battery 
moved in the fall of 1874, and for which the State paid an 
annual rental of $600. 

For a number of years the organization was well supported 
and was a credit to the Town and State; but in time, owing to 
a lack of interest in military matters, and sufficient support, in 
this community, the organization was disbanded by Governor 
Robinson in 1886, and the guns and equipments were removed 
to Lawrence. During the last few years of its existence here, 
Captain Charles O. Boyd was in command, owing to the illness 
of Colonel Baldwin, who died Nov. 10, 1890. 

The Spanish-American War. Resolutions declaring war 
with Spain, and recognizing the independence of Cuba, were 
introduced in both branches of Congress, March 29, 1898. 

April 22, the President, William McKinley, called for 
125,000 volunteers. April 25, Congress declared that war 
with Spain had existed since April 21. The President made 
another call May 25, for 75,000 more volunteers. 

The apportionment to Massachusetts as her quota was: 

On the first call, 4.554 

On the second call, ..... 2,834 



Making a total of, 7,388 

As in the " Great Rebellion," so was it in this war. Melrose 
having no military company of its own, the young men en- 
listed in such service as they preferred — naval or military; 
consequently thej^ were scattered in many regiments and war 
vessels. 

For this war there were forty-one men belonging to Melrose 
who served in the various organizations. A large proportion 
of them, more than half, were in the Fifth and Sixth Regi- 
ments, Massachusetts Infantry, U. S. V.; largely in the Maiden 
Company of the Fifth and the Wakefield Company of the 
Sixth. Others were in the Second and Eighth Regiments. A 
few in regiments of other states. The rest were in the navy. 
The following were in the P'ifth Regiment, which was mus- 



MILITARY HISTORY. 247 

tered into the United States service July i, 1898, performed 
guard and camp duties in various localities, and was mustered 
out March 31, 1899: 

Barnes, Ara E., Co. L. Lyons, Thomas, Co. L. 

Blades, John W., Co. L. Murphy, Ralph H., Co. L. 

Brackett, George S., Co. L. Riley, Edward B., Co. L. 

Fiske, Harvey P., Co. E. Smith, Carl \V., Co. L. 

Loring, Fred M., Co. L. Smith, Herbert S., Co. L. 

The following were in the Sixth Regiment, which was mus- 
tered into the service May 13, 1898, performed various duties, 
went through the Porto Rico campaign, and was mustered out 
January 21, 1899. 

Blades, James W., Co. A. 

Bridge, Charles, Sergeant, Co. A. 

Brown, Lewis W., Co. A. 

Camerlin, Henry G., Co. H. 

Cass, A. H., Co. H. 

Hathaway, Joseph, Co. A. 

McDonald, Thomas, Co. A. 

Ogilvie, Walter, Co. H. 

Rich, George, Corporal, Co. A. 

Shaw, Edward, Co. H. 

Tabbut, George H., Co. A. 

Twitchell, James H., Co. H. 

Warren, Myris, H., Co. A. 

Wentzell, E. E., Co. H. 
Myris H. Warren, one of the first men to enlist, served 
throughout the war with courage and devotion, but returned 
home with disease contracted in the army, was taken to the 
Melrose Hospital, where he died November 25, 1898, the first 
Melrose soldier to lose his life in the service of his country in 
this war. 

James H. Twitchell, returned with his regiment, but again 
re-enlisted, is still in the service, and has had thus far a varied 
experience in the Philippines and China. 

In the Second Regiment, which was mustered in May 10, 
1898, was in the battles of El Caney, San Juan Hill and 
Santiago, and was mustered out November 3, 1898, Melrose 
had but one representative: 

Wooldridge, Edwin D., Co. C. 
In the Eighth Regiment, which was mustered in May ii, 



U JS HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

l8oS. |HMt\Mmcil x.iiioiis iMi.iul .111(1 r.iinp ihilics, .nul w.is 
imisU'u-il out .\|Mil .'S, iSoo. Miliosi- li.ul iwo: 

(ioiiiiaii, l.mu-s. (. o K ll.iiiiN. Alliii 1,, (.\>. K. 

Ill tlu- Srxciilh l\r:;mu'nl, l'. S. liil.iiin\, two; 

Kr\ lloKIs, rililip. \\\'Sl, I'lmiKlll A. 

Ill tlu- Nllllh KosMUU'llt, r, S. lllt.lllllN, o\w. 

1 1 .i\\ lr\ , l.iiius. I. \v (, '. 
riu- Niiuli w.is 111 (lu- ImiiK- ot S.iii 111. Ill llill. .iml tlu- thst 
u-i^iiufut ti< rnti-i S.iiui.ii^o. ll,i\\U-\- u- riilisti'il .nul li,i> Inn-ii 
111 tlu- (.'hill. I .(ml rhijippiiu- r.iiiip.HiMiN. 

Ill tlu' rwt'll'ih Uri^imfut. I . S. liil.imis, ono; 

lK-rsr\-. M.iik 1 . 
J'irst l,itnit(Mi.iiit t, ''u.ii In lll,l■^l^•l umU-i (iriirt.il (."h.ilToo, 
lH^I\>rt> S.iutl.ii'.o I .ltd W.IS with (niui.il Sh.ilivi's Pi\ isioii 
.11 r>Mto Ku»>. 11. IS luHMt ill tin- riiilippino aiul (.'hiii.i ^-.im- 
p.Ui^nis, InlvMi- nili-i mil; t ho si.-r\ ico lie w .is 'Milii,ir\ liistiiutor 
.11 1 l.iiA .lul (.'olloi^o. 

Ill I'liNi llo.i\\ Aitilloix. r, S, \'., one; 
I ikUi w ooil. M.u'sh.ill 
lutoto tlu- w.ii ho W.IS Soi.-oiul Litnitoii.uU in n.iiioi\ lo 
Durin}4 ih^- w.u tlu- n.nioty w.is stationoil lirst .u I'on W.mon, 
th<>n at riuiu Islaiul ami l-'ori C'ousiitiition, .iiul thou .u Now 
(.'.i<tK\ N. 11. Ilo is mnv l'"irst 1 iiMilcnant ol th.it Ivittoiy. 
lu hiist \ow \ Ol k KoiMuuiit, ouo: 

1 \ luU-. I'l.iuk <.i . (.'o. IX 
111 I'liNt Nrw 1 l,iuip->hii o l\OL;iiuout, ouo; 
l\,iius.i\ , Aliio. 

\ w \ Ko.u Ailiuii.il 1\\ 01 is tlu' luMo ol two w.us. Ilo 
w.isluMii ill Ti o\ iuootow 11, I'oImu.ha lo. iv^;o. loi tho (."uil 
Wai. ho oulistoil ill tho I'hiitoouth Ri^i^iiwout M.iss.iohusot Is 
\"oluuli'ors, atul wont to tho iioiit iii |iil\-. iScu. Ilo sorxoil iu 
ill, It lOiMinout oiil\ until tho lollowiui^ Apiil, w lioii ho loooixoil 
,iu .ippoiuli\loul .is M.istoi's M.ito 111 tho ii.i\ \ I'lisl .is>i!4U0il 
to tin- r. S. S. K. R. (."uxloi to noiao mi tho (.lull Siiu.ulrou. 
uiuloi .Avlmii.il I'.u r.iL^ut. TiouuMo^l to Av'tiii!^ l'"usiL;ii, .M.i\ 
i."^. i.'s(\;, lof " i;.ill.iui au^l luotitorious ooiuhut," ha\ iu^ ou iho 
pio\iou> lUL^ht IniiiuHJ .nul iK^stioyod tho hlook.uK^ luiinoi 
" l^.ihol," tioui uiuloi thoi^uusiW I'oit Moti^.ni, in Mohilo Iviv; 
.1 ilaiiui: .nul ImiIIkiiU .i^hio\A-inout. ih.uaotovi/od In (.\iptaiu 
louott as"v>uoot tho hohU^t ol tho war, ami was ovMuluctod 



MILITARY HI5T0RY. 249 

with matchless coolness from bcjijinnin^'^ to cnd."^ Promoted 
to Acting Master, January 12, 1864; Acting Volunteer Lieuten- 
ant, April 22, 1865. Meanwhile .he had been in command of 
various vessels in the Gulf Squadron, taken part in tin; Hattle 
of Mobile Bay, and in the passage of Farragut's fleet up the 
Mississippi River by New Orleans, and in various other duties 




NEHEMIAH MAYO DVKR. 

until the close of the war; after which he served two years in 
the Bureau of Navigation at Washington. 

Commissioned Lieutenant in the regular navy, March 12, 
1868, and ordered to dut\' in tiie South Pacific Squadron. 
Commissioned Lieutenant Commander, December 18, 1868. 
From September 1869, to March 1870, was in command of the 
*' Cyane," in a cruise to Sitka, Alaska. In July, 1870, while on 
the " Ossipee," cruising to the Lower California and Mexican 
coasts, a hurricane was encountered, 

^ For Ensign Dyer's account of this transaction, see Melrose Memo- 
rial pp. 228-31. 



250 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



which left the sea in a troubled state, and in the morning whilst 
making sail a man fell overboard from main topsail-yard, the halyards 
carrying away while hoisting top-sails. Striking in main-chains he 
was knocked senseless, and was drifting astern. Dyer was taking an 
observation on the poop-deck, and, immediately turning a bowline in 
the end of a boat fall, jumped into the sea" and saved the man from 
sharks or drowning. For this he was publicly thanked by Commodore 
W. R. Taylor, Commander-in-Chief, was commended by the Secre- 
tary of the Navy, and received a medal from the Massachusetts 
Humane Society.''^ 

Promoted Commander in April, 1883; commissioned Captain 
July 13, 1897. Ordered to the Asiatic Squadron in command 
first of the " Philadelphia," and then to the " Baltimore," in 
which he took the memorable part, under Admiral Dewey, in 
the decisi\'e Battle of Manila, May i, 
i8q8. Left the "Baltimore," in ill health 
March, 1899, ^"cl was, after recovery, as- 
signed to duty at the Boston Nav}^ Yard, 
February i, 1900. A little more than a 
year later, February 19, 1901, being then 
at the age limit, he was pensioned as 
Rear-Admiral, on half-pay.^ 

On account of the eminent services 
rendered by Admiral Dyer in the many 
different positions filled by him, various 
testimonials have been gi\'en him. One, 
a beautiful watch, duly inscribed, by the 
Melrose Club, of which he had long been 
an honored member. Another, a mag- 
nificent sword given him at a public 
banquet, by the City of Baltimore in 
recognition of his services as commander 
of the noble vessel which was named in 
honor of that cit)'. 
When the war was declared, Melrose had five men in the 
Massachusetts Naval Brigade: 

Buttrick, Charles H. Abercrombie, John J. 

Colby, William J. Jones, Lieut. Gardner L 

P.astman, Harry M. 




UYUK SWORD. 



2 Me/rose: Tozvn and City, p. 84. 

^ For further details as to the 
various duties aud commands of 



Admiral Dyer, from the close of 
the Civil War to the Manila fight, 
see Melrose: Town and City, pp. 
83-85. 



MILITARY HISTORY. 251 

Mr. Eastman was the first to enlist, April 5, but Mr. Buttrick 
was first to enter the actual service, which he did April 10, 
being then ordered to Philadelphia, when he was appointed 
"Equipment Yeoman" on the U. S. S. Lehigh, afterwards 
transferred to the U. S. S. Wabash. Mr. Abercrombie also 
served with him on the same vessel. Discharged September 
I, 1898. Another young man who served first on the Wabash 
was Charles F. Henderson, who enlisted when he was sixteen 
years of age ; was on different vessels, and was promoted to 
a second class apprenticeship, assigned to the U. S. S. Indiana, 
and took part in the destruction of Admiral Cervera's fleet, 
July 3, 1898. 

Mr. Eastman was called into the service April 23, entering 
the regular navy April 28, when he was assigned to the U. S. S. 
Prairie, being appointed "Chief Ship's Yeoman." The Prairie 
was the flagship of the blockading squadron off Havana. 

With Eastman was William J. Colby, who entered the ser- 
vice May 3, served through the war, and was discharged at the 
same time as was Eastman. 

Lieutenant Gardner L Jones served on the monitors "Le- 
high " and "Jason," being in command of the latter. Concern- 
ing him. Lieutenant William H. Stayton, who had charge of 
the patrol work off Montauk Point, reported to his command- 
ing officer as follows: "Lieutenant Jones was indefatigable in 
his efforts to relieve the sick and was very successful. I trust 
you will commend him for his zeal, faithfulness and humanity." 
He served during the war. Another Melrose boy, John Henry 
Higgins, was not in the Spanish-American War, but has seen 
severe service in China and the Philippines. He enlisted in 
Boston, July 17, 1899, was soon after sent to the Philippines, 
and in Co. A, ist Marine Batallion, served in China during 
1900. He helped take Tientsin, was one of the first to enter 
Pekin, and is still in service in the Philippines. 

The Spanish-American War was of short duration; and upon 
the return of the Melrose soldiers and sailors, a " Public Re- 
ception " was given them in the Town Hall, Tuesday evening, 
November 22, 1898, which proved to be an occasion of very 
great and general interest. The hall was appropriately 
decorated for the event, the stars and stripes largely predomi- 
nating. Addresses of welcome were made by Charles H. 
Adams and Mrs. Mary A. Livermore. War reminiscences 



■252 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

were given by Edwin D. Wooldridge and Major Edward J. 
■Gihon, of the Sixth Regiment, to which many of our Melrose 
men belonged. A letter from Captain N. Mayo Dyer, then at 
Manila, was read. Resolutions recognizing the services of 
these brave young men, were presented by Arthur M. Willis. 
•Music was furnished by the Moorhouse Orchestra. The pre- 
siding officer was Charles M. Cox, chairman of the reception 
•committee, of which Charles C. Barry was treasurer. 

The Army Christian Commission was early organized for 
the moral and spiritual benefit of the ii6,000 young men that 
had then enlisted in the service for the Spanish-American War. 
It was instrumental in equipping tents at the front and in state 
camps, with reading tables, correspondence facilities, games 
and amusements, organ, singing books, and other privileges — 
thus furnishing places of social resort and religious meetings 
under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A. In this manner a very 
positive and spiritual uplift was given to the brave boys who 
had taken their lives in their hands and gone forth to fight the 
battles of the United States. 

The Melrose Y. M. C. A. Army Christian Commission was 
organized largely by the efforts of Franklin P. Shumway; 
associated with him on the committee was William H. Fland- 
ers, and amass meeting was held in the City Hall, June 5, 1898, 
for the purpose of raising money for this object. There were 
musical exercises, and addresses by Re\'. Kdwin C. Bolles, 
D. D., Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, and the Rev. Thomas Sims, 
D. D. The amount raised was $300, which was paid into the 
treasury and acknowledged as follows: 

Boston, June 7th, 1898. 
Mr. F. P. Shumway. 

My Dear Sir : — I am in receipt of the proceeds of the mass meet- 
ing in the town hall, Melrose, last Sunday evening, for the use of the 
Massachusetts and Rhode Island Army Commission. I want, through 
you, to thank the citizens of Melrose for their interest as shown by 
this very generous contribution, and to assure them that it is more than 
appreciated. This liberal and prompt response will make itself felt in 
other communities, and I know of no work that will mean so much for 
the moral uplifting of our boj's at the front or fraught with such results 
as this. Truly yours, 

O. H. DuRRELL, Chairman. 

Meanwhile the Melrose Woman's Auxiliary of the Volunteer 



MILITARY HISTORY. 25a 

Aid Association had been organized, and during the succeed- 
ing months many meetings were held by the women of 
Melrose; some at the Highlands, and some in the parlors of 
the Young Men's Christian Association, where a large variety 
of articles were made and forwarded to the front; among them 
two hundred and six hospital shirts, one hundred pajamas, 
seventy-two abdominal bands, fifty mosquito canopies, sheets,, 
comfort bags, bandages, handkerchiefs, towels and packages 
of old linen and other articles. Mrs. Elizabeth H. Deering 
acted as treasurer, and Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, secretary, 
who received the following letter from the secretary of the 
association. 

Dear Mrs. Livermore : 

Many thanks for your kind letter and enclosure. Thanks to the 
early organization of the work on clothing, we have ample supplies in 
the storehouse for any demand likely to be made. All the reports 
from the surgeon general and from the surgeons in charge of the 
hospitals are that delicacies are needed for the sick. Men recovering 
from climatic troubles and fevers cannot use the army rations, and 
they ask for delicacies. So I hope you will ask your people to direct 
their attention to gathering such supplies. The enclosed is a copy of 
the list of supplies needed, received this morning from the surgeon 
general. It is not a long one: jellies, clam juice, cocoa, sardines, 
condensed milk, extract of beef, corn starch, concentrated consomme 
(France American Co.), saltine crackers, water thin crackers. 

Yours respectfully, 

Elihu B. Haves. 

After this the efforts of these patriotic women were given to 
procuring articles suggested by the above letter, rather than 
gathering clothing and other articles as at first; and in this 
manner much other valuable assistance in this good work was 
rendered. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

" MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 

US. GRANT POST 4, G. A. R., Department of Massa- 
chusetts. The Grand Army of the Republic was 
formed in i866, soon after the close of the War of the 
Rebellion. Its object and purpose was set forth in the first 
official report of the then Commander-in-Chief, Gen. B. F. 
Stephenson: 

Early in the spring of 1866, a few patriots, deeply feeling the impor- 
tance of organizing a grand association of the gallant Union soldiers 
and sailors of the late terrible rebellion, for the purpose of fostering 
fraternal relations and keeping alive the zeal of patriotism and devo- 
tion to our country, and above all, for the purpose of mutual support 
and assistance in clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and furnish- 
ing employment to destitute, sick and wounded comrades, and caring 
for the widows and oq^hans of the gallant dead, forming their plans, 
and publicly calling on all interested, on the 13th day of July, 1866, 
met in convention in the representative hall at the State Capitol at 
Springfield, Illinois, and then and there, formed the nucleus of the 
grand organization here represented in convention, and which from 
that humble origin now extends an influence of great power through- 
out nearly every state and territory in ovir country. 

Soon after the organization was formed, February 19, 1867, 
the surviving soldiers and sailors then living in Melrose, those 
that served on her quotas, and those that became citizens after 
the war, formed a Post, being the fourth one organized, and 
named it after Gen. Grant. ^ It was the onh^ one that bore his 
name during his lifetime; others have been named after him 
since his death. Soon after this Post was named, Congress 
passed a law that no Posts should be named after li\'ing sol- 

^ " We have a Grand Army Post, whose valor and endurance pre. 

keeping green the memory of the served to you the blessing of liberty 

patriot dead, and pointing annually and union." George F. Stone, 

to the increasing and ever to be address at Dedication of Town Hall, 

honored roll, saying, these are they June 17, 1874. MSS. 



MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 255 

diers. The Post is the happy possessor of his autograph, in a 
letter signed by him less than three months before he died, at 
Mt. Gregor, July 23, 1885;- and it was in answer to the follow- 
ing letter of sympathy and condolence sent by the Post. 

Headquarters U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R. 

Department of Massachusetts. 

Melrose, April 7, 1885. 
Hono7-ed and Estcc7ncd Co7)iradc : 

Permit us, the Post of the G. A. R., bearing your honored name to 

send you this brief note in assurance of our deep and sincere sympathy 

with you in this time of your great trial and suffering. Recognizing 

as every American must, your just desert of all the heartfelt interest 

now felt in your condition, and feeling that your comrades in arms, 

who under you were enabled to save the Union from disruption, have 

still greater reason than all others to appreciate your great services to 

the country. As also to sorrow with you in your grief and trials, we 

offer you our sincere condolence in this hour, and the assurance of our 

prayers that the God who has held and kept you as in the hollow of 

His hand during the days of your strength, will now make you to feel 

that the everlasting arms are under you and will keep you and bless 

you forever. Yours in F. C. and L. 

Edwin C. Gould, Com. 

Gilbert N. Harris, Adj't. 

To Gen. U. S. Grant, New Vo?-k. 
To this sympathetic letter. Gen. Grant replied as follows: 

New York, April 29th, 1885. 
Dear Sir.— The resolutions of sympathy of your Post are received. 
Now that I am better I wish to acknowledge the same and to express 
my appreciation of the action. 

Very truly yours, 




To Comi7iandcr U. S. G/-ant Post, A^o. 4, Me/rose, Mass. 

Soon after this correspondence, the Great Commander and 

"^ This was the last time but one name; so says his son, Col. Fred- 
that Gen. Grant ever signed his erick D. Grant. 



256 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Ex-President died. The Nation mourned his loss. Melrose 
recognized the solemn event in "Services at the Town Hall^ 
Melrose, August 8, 1885, under the auspices of the Selectmen, 
in Memory of General Ulysses S. Grant;" on which occasion 
addresses were made by Hon. Levi S. Gould, Chairman of the 
Board, Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, Rev. Richard Eddy D. D., 
Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, Col. Francis S. Hesseltine, Col. 
Samuel Adams Drake, and Rev. John G. Taylor. Among the 
other exercises, the following hymn, written by Dr. Julius S. 
Clark, was recited by Miss Louie H. Orcutt: 

MUSTERED OUT— MUvSTERED IN. 

To U. S. Grant Post No. 4, Department of 
Afassachiisetts, G. A. R. 

Hallowed hence in Mt. McGregor, 

Pilgrim's consecrated goal ; 
Vernon of the country's Saviour, 

Mecca of the patriot soul. 

Like an incense heaven ascending 

Up from hamlet, mart, and mead. 
Anguished hearts in pathos Vjlending, 

Sanctify the Nation's dead. 

Strew your path with morning cypress, 
Join the march with measured tread ; 

Nobler far than Greek Ulysses, 
Grant, Columbia's own, is dead. 

Comrades of the Grand Republic ! 

Gray-haired men, once boys in blue. 
White-winged Peace holds yon Potomac, 

Grant joins in the Grand Review. 

Mustered out by Orders General, 

From the ranks of flesh and pain ; 
Present at the Call Eternal, 

Grant is mustered in again. 

Great Commander ! God of Goodness ! 

Subjects we of sovereign will, 
Trusting to undying mercies: 

Grant is at Headquarters, still. 

A pleasant event in the history of this organization took 
place July 6, 1886, when a very handsome " Grand Army 



MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 



Ibl 



Memorial Record," bound in full Turke)' morocco, was pre- 
sented to the Post, bearint^r the follo\vin<4- inscription: 

Memorial Record, Presented to l^ S. (]rant Post, No. 4, Depart- 
ment of Massachusetts, by Joseph D. Wilde, Nathaniel P. Jones, 
Daniel W. Gooch, Samuel E. Sewall, Elbridge H. Goss, Albert D, 
Holmes, Sidney H. Buttrick, Daniel Russell Charles H. Isburgh, 
George L. Morse, John W. Farwell. John Larrabee. 1886. Grand 
Army of the Republic. 

The presentation speech was made by the late Hon. Daniel 
\V. Gooch, duly responded to by the then Commander P>dwin 
C. Gould. The \'olume contains an elaborate heading on every 
page, comprising- the Grand Arm}' badge, with the words: "In 
Memoriam. The last enem\- that shall be destroyed is Death." 
Each page contains two columns; one for each Comrade's war 
history, the other, resolutions passed by the Post. 

The Post is ofificered at the present time 
as follows : Commander, P^rank T. Palmer; 
Senior Vice Commander, Louis A. Young; 
Junior Vice Commander, Albert A. Carlton; 
Adjutant, Charles A. Patch; Quartermaster, 
Alfred Hocking; Surgeon, Edwin P.Holmes; 
Chaplain, John E. Marshall; Ofificer of the 
Day, Horatio S. Libby; Ofificer of the Guard, 
John S. Larrabee ; Sergeant Major, Corne- 



lius Casey; Quartermaster Sergeant, Thomas *.^?*=^^^'-%i:J_i-^ 
J. Munn. ^f 

Present number of members, eighty. Oni)- ^ 

fourteen of these were citizens of Melrose ^- ^- ^*- "■^^^^• 
during the war, serving on her \arious quotas. All the others 
ha\e become residents since that era. 

P^or many years the Town, at its annual March meeting, 
made an appropriation of $200 "for keeping in repair and dec- 
orating the graves of soldiers and sailors on Memorial Day;" 
and this custom" has been continued by the city administration. 
This amount has always been expended under the auspices of 
the Post. P^ach year, on that day, the members of the U. S. 
Grant Post 4, and William F. Barry Camp 79, Sons of Veter- 
ans, accompanied by barges for the members of the Woman's 
Relief Corps, march in procession, with appropriate music, 
from the G. A. R. Mall on Main Street, to the Wyoming Ceme- 
tery. There, after ser\-ices, at a given signal, the graves of all 




258 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

those who have "marched on"— ever increasing in number 3^ear 
by year — are strewn with flowers. A miniature flag is placed 
at each grave, which has now a standard marker. On the last 
Memorial Day, May 30, 1902, one hundred and thirty-one 
graves were thus decorated; four of which were those of Revo- 
lutionary heroes, William Emerson, Asa Hart, John Edmunds 
and William Upham, two of those who fought in the war of 
1812, Thomas Brintnall and J. S. Francis, and one ci\-il war 
nurse. Miss C. M. Kimball. 

On the evening of that day, for many years, public com- 
memorative services were held in the city hall, with music, 
vocal and instrumental, and a eulogy by some townsman, or 
orator from abroad. For the past three years these services 
have been omitted; but on the Sunday previous to Memorial 
Day it is the custom of some one of the pastors of the local 
churches, to invite the Post and Camp to be present, when a 
sermon appropriate to the occasion is delivered. 

Closely connected with the history of this Post, is the 
action taken at the Annual Meeting, March .ig, 1895, i" behalf 
of a number of the veteran soldiers who served on the quota 
of Melrose, relative to the bounty \-oted them May 6, 1861, as 
follows: It was 

Voted, that the sum of $15.00 per month be paid to those persons 
having families, and the sum of #10.00 per month to those who were 
single men, during their term of service in the war. 

There was paid to those who enlisted the sum of about 
$18,000; but there were many who did not apply for this 
bounty until many years afterwards when it was found that 
the town records had been destroyed by the fire of August 
20, 1870. After more or less agitation the following committee 
was appointed at the above meeting, to consider the subject 
and report at the November meeting: William P2. Barrett, 
John Larrabee, John E. Marshall, Alfred Hocking, Frank E. 
Orcutt, Francis S. Hesseltine, Charles C. Barry, Joseph W. 
Spaulding, Stephen F. Keyes and Frank H. Merrill. 

This committee reported the total amount due as per abo\-e 
vote of the Town, May 6, 1861, as aggregating $44,739.49. Of 
this, the sum of $18,114.50 had been paid, leaving still unpaid 
a balance of $27,459.16; and recommended that application be 
made to the Legislature by the Selectmen, for an act to be 
passed authorizing the State to pay the whole or a part of said 



MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 



259 



balance, as had been done in other cases of a simihir nature. 
This was successfully done. A resolve for the relief of the 
ve erans was enacted, and the sum of $8,391.17 was voted for 
the twent}'-two veterans, or their lethal heirs, by the following: 

Resolved, That there be paid out of the treasury of the Common- 
wealth to the following named persons, or their heirs or legal repre- 
sentatives, the sums placed after their names respectively ; said per- 
sons being veterans or heirs or legal representatives of veterans who 
served in the United States army in the war for the suppression of the 
rebellion to the credit of the town of Melrose, the within claim arising 
from a vote of said town passed on the sixth day of May, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one. 

This gave to them the amounts originally voted by the Town, 
without interest; nevertheless the amounts were welcomed by 
the beneficiaries, which were as follows: 

Andrews, Edwin A., Coiporal in Second Massachusetts 
Battery, 

Barron, Henr}', \\'agoner in Twenty-second Massachusetts 
Regiment, by Elizabeth J. Barron and Bertha M. Arm- 
strong, heirs at law, 

Batchelder, George W., Sergeant Twentj'-second Regiment, 
by Eldora Batchelder and William B. Batchelder, heirs 
at law, 

Chandler, Roswell W., First Massachusetts Cavalry, by 
Abbie A. Chandler, Frank A. Chandler, Herbert W 
Chandler and Henry I. Chandler, heirs at law, . 

Ellis, Jacob M., Lieutenant in Second Battery, . 

Grover, John C, Seventeenth Regiment, 

Jones, Henry H., Corporal in Thirteenth Regiment, . 

Littlefield, Cushing \V., Twenty-fourth Regiment, 

Lynde, Sherman, Corporal in First Cavalry, 

Macey, James, Thirteenth Regiment, .... 

Morse, George J., Thirteenth Regiment, by Horace E. 
Morse, heir at law, 

Munn, Thomas J., Thirteenth Regiment, 

Peabody, Torrey, Jr., Seventeenth Regiment, 

Pratt, Daniel S., First Cavalry, 

Shelton, Albert F., Thirteenth Regiment, 

Simonds, Joseph R., Captain Seventeenth Regiment, by 
Hannah G. Simonds, heir at law 

Sprague, Samuel, Jr., Twelfth Regiment, Corporal, . 

Stantial, Thomas B., Artificer Fifth Battery, 

Stilphen, John E., Second Battery, by Sarah E. Stilphen, 

Eva Y. Crosby and Florence A. Lawrence, heirs at law, 564.00 



^360.00 



547-50 



434.00 



I So. 00 

457-5° 
356.00 
360.00 
186.00 
558.00 
363.00 

535-00 
360.00 
532-50 
360.00 
I 79.00 

540.00 
372.00 
149.00 



260 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Tainter, George A., Thirteenth Regiment $310.00 

Whitney, Edward H., Sergeant Thirteenth Regiment, . 361.00 

Wyman, Wilham, Twenty-fourth Regiment, . . . 326.67 

Total, $8,391.17 

By some oversight a few names of \'eterans were omitted 
from the list given by the act to whom the bounty rio-htfully 
belonged; among them the late F. Edward Howe, William H. 
Eastman, and perhaps others. 

U. S. Grant Woman's Relief Corps, No. 16, Auxiliary 
TO U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R, This body of women, the 
wives and daughter.s of the war veterans, was organized January 
6, 1881. Present membership eighty-six. It is officered as 
follows: President, Senior Vice President, Junior Vice President, 
Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain, Conductor, Guard, Assistant 
Conductor, Assistant Guard, First Color Bearer, Second, Third, 
Fourth, and Pianist. 

William Francis Barry Camp, No. 79, Sons of Veterans. 
This was organized May 27, 1887, and was named after one of 
the youngest of the "Boys in Blue," that went from Melrose, 
and who was killed at the "Battle of Antietam, September, 17, 
1862. He was a brother of Royal P. and Charles C. Barr\'. 
The Camp now numbers forty-seven members, and has officers 
as follows: Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, 
Chaplain, First Sergeant, Second Sergeant, Color Sergeant, 
and Musician. 

The Ladies' Aid Society, No. 23, auxiliary to William 
Francis Barry Camp, No. 79, was organized May 9, 1893. It 
has twenty-one members, and has officers as follows: President, 
Vice President, Past President, Chaplain, Secretary, Treasurer, 
Guide, .^nd Judge Advocate. 

Soldiers' Memorial. The Town of Melrose has recognized 
the services of her citizen soldiers in the Civil War, by the 
purchasing of two hundred and twenty-six copies of the 
Melrose Memorial, and giving a cop\' to each one that served on 
her quota j'^ and, also, by the placing of an "American Flag 

^ At a Town Meeting held Nov. " That the Selectiiieu be authorized 

3, 1868, Hou. Samuel E. Sewall of- to subscribe aud pay for a sufficient 

fered the following resolution, number of copies of Mr. Elbridge 

which was unanimously adopted: H. Goss' work, entitled, T/ie Mel- 



MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 



261 



Window," in "memory of those soldiers who gave their h'ves 
for their countr3^" in the new Baptist Church on Franklin 
Street, at the Highlands, in 1895. 

Several efforts have been made by our citizens, at different 
times, looking towards the erection of a Monument, Memorial 
Hall. Tablets in the Town Hall, or in some other way recognize 
the war record of our " Boys in Blue." One was March i, *i886, 
when Dr. Julius S. Clark offered a series of resolutions, which 
Avere unanimously adopted. 

No further action was taken by the town at this time. 

Again in 1896. a committee of fifteen from the U. S. Grant 
Post 4, G. A. R., was appointed to take into consideration the 
erection of a Memorial Hall. This committee asked for the 
cooperation of all the Churches, Masons, Odd Fellows, and 
other societies. These bodies appointed committees to repre- 
sent them, and a number of meetings and consultations took 
place in the G. A. R. Hall. It was then thought that a site for 
such a hall on the old Village Cemetery land, then disused, 
might be voted by the Town. When it was found that the 
school-house building committee had pre-empted the whole 
lot for the High School structure, all further effort ceased. 

It IS hoped that the day will come when something more 
will be done to honor our soldiers and sailors, and their ser- 

\\CQS. 

This sentence was written in 1899. May 6, 1901, a commu- 
nication to the Board of Aldermen was received from His 
Honor, Mayor Larrabee, enclosing a letter from the U. S. 
Grant Post 4, G. A. R., relative to a proposed soldiers' and 
sailors' monument to be erected on the "Soldiers' Lot" in 
Wyoming Cemetery, suggesting that a committee from the 
Board of Aldermen be appointed to meet a committee of the 
Post, and the Cemetery Committee, to take the matter into 

rose Memorial: The Annals of 
Melrose, County of Middlesex, Mas- 
saelmsetls, duriuiy the Great Rebel- 
lion of 1861-65, to furuish a copy to 
every inhabitant of this town who 
served as a soldier or sailor in the 
Rebellion, now livin<r, and a copy 
to the family of each of said soldiers 
and sailors as have deceased ; also 
for twenty-five additional copies for 
the town, any of which may be 



given to public libraries at the 
di.scretion of the Selectmen." 

And on motion of Hon. Daniel 
W. Cioocli, it was voted that the 
following inscription be embossed 
in gilt letters on the cover of each 
copy thus given : 

Presented to — (name of soldier 
or sailor)— by the Town of Melrose, 
in recognition of liis services during 
the Great Rebellion of 1861-5. 



^HV2 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

oonsiiiciation and roinnt. l-'axorahlc action was taken, and 
rrrsidrnt Kohinson appointed the following ci>niniittee: Aldii- 
nien Marshall, Tasje, Goss, Day and Harlon. llu- nuinhc is of 
tin- oihei eonmiittees wiTe as foIKnvs: (.ieoii^e V. Marsh, Al- 
(rrd lliH-kini; and 1^'rank T. Talnier of the Tost, .ind l«^lin V. 
l)eejiii!4. C">siMr 1'". h'rost and 1 . Ilciiix Kniihardl. C'emelcry 
Committee. ThriMioh the kimhu-ss of Won. John IX loni^j, 
Secretary of the N.ny, .lidetl In' Kepresentat i\e I'jnest W. 
Roberts, the Tost snecieihil in oht.iinini; from the I'nited 
States Ciovernment. the jierm.ment Kian of three thirtx-pound 
r.irrott s^nns. .nui twelve twehe-inoh shells. 

With this ni.iterial .1 haiulsonu- design for .1 monument, with 
i^r.mite h.isi-, was submitted to and adopted by the united com- 
mittees at a meetini; ludil Ma\ \.^, and by .i nn.inimons V(^ti\ 
the Aldermanic COmmittiH- was ic-ipu-sti-d \o \c\Mn\ [o the 
Hoard of Aldermen, a recommendation that the desi!.][n be 
aiiopti d. and an appropriation of $750 be asked for. w ith w hich 
to ]Mep.ue a suitable lonndation on said "Soldiers' l.ot.".uid 
that tlu- monument be erecteil thereon. This committee- re- 
j-torlml to the Hoard of AldiMnien, aiui at a meetiui^ held June 
;, iijoi, tliis sum of 5750 was unanimously .ii^jMopriateil. by the 
follow ini; \ ote: 

That for the pmposo of eonmienioratino- the deeds of valor and self 
sacritiee of those who so unselti.shly pive their hves or rendered loyal 
service for their country in the dark days of the Rebellion, it is hereby 
ordered th.u a nioniinient. substantially in accordance with a plan 
numbered i.as submitted by I". S. Ciranl Tost No. 4. G. .\. R.. be 
erected on the Soldiers' Lot in Wyoming Cemetery, and that the sum 
of seven hundred and tifty dollars (#750) be and is hereby appropri- 
ated to pay for the cost and the erection of said monument, and for 
.!;radinji the lot thereof: the wi^k to be done under the direction of 
His Honor the Mayor. 

(.>rdered further that in order to provide for the foregoini; .appropri- 
ation tlie City Treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to borrow 
the smu of seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750) and issue the note or 
notes of the City therefor, payable within one year from date of issue, 
with interest not exceeding- four {4) per cent, per annum. 

This design as adopted w.is made b\- \"irgil W". b\dler, upon 
the basis of .1 S^fO appropriat ic>n. \\ hen lie learned that the 
.imount appropriated was 5750. he submitteil a new and more 
elaborate design, which was the one fin.dly adopted at a 
meeting of the \arious committees, with His Honor. Maxor 



MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 



203 



Larrabee, in his office, August 7, 1901. Under his direction, 
bids were solicited, the contract awarded to Joss Brothers 
Company of Ouinc>', the lowest bidder, and the monument 
erected. 

The base is of Quincy granite, and bears the date of the 
Great Rebellion, "1861-65." There is no other inscription. 




SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. 

The three Parrott Rifles, which form so unique a part of the 
monument, ha\e a histor\' closely connected with the war; 
one being in use on the U. S. S. "Sophronia," in the Potomac 
flotilla, one on the U. S. S. "luka," and one on the U. S. S. 
"Trefoil." They weigh respectively 3,510, 3,500 and 3,490 
pounds; a total of 10,450 pounds. An account of the dedica- 
tory services is given under "Old Home Week" observances. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FIRST AND LAST TOWN MEETINGS. 

MELROSE was incorporated May 3, 1850. The first war- 
rant for a Town Meeting, dated May 6, 1850, was 
issued by Elbridge Green, Esq., Justice of the Peace, 
and was directed to Jonathan Cochran, Esq., another Justice of 
the Peace. 

The inhabitants qualified to \'ote in elections and town 
affairs, were warned to assemble on May 10, 1850, in Acadeni}^ 
Hall, which stood upon land which now forms the northeast 
corner of Grove and Berwick Streets. Sometime before the 
year 1857, this building" was mo\'ed to Main Street, nearly 
opposite the present Post Office, became known as Lyceum 
Hall, and was destro}'ed in the destructive fire which occurred 
August 20, 1870, six days only before the Spot Pond water 
system was ready for use. This building had been extensively 
used for town purposes, and its destruction \'ery essentially 
hastened the erection of our present City Hall. 

This warrant had two articles, \'iz.: "To choose a Moderator; 
to choose all necessar)' Town C)fficers for the \'ear ensuing." 
The following officers were chosen: 

Henry Sprague, Moderator; Elbridge Green, Town Clerk; 
Jeremiah Martin, Isaac P^merson, Jr., Artcmas Barrett, .Select- 
men; Aaron Green, Shubael L.Taylor, William J. Farnsworth, 
Assessors; Isaac Emerson, Treasurer and Collector; Plenry A. 
Norris, Caleb Howard, PLlbridge Green. School Committee; 
James Howard, Highwa}' Sur\-eyor. 

The salaries then \'oted were as follows: 

Town Clerk, eight dollars per annum; in 1854, increased to 
^10; Selectmen, four dollars each, ])er annum; in 1854 in- 
creased to $8; Assessors, Si. 25 per day, each man ; in 1854 
increased to $1.50; Collector, at first as determined by the 
Selectmen; then in 1854, it was made $25 per annum. 

The first annual rept)rt is something of a curiosit}'; being a 



FIRST AND LAST TOWN MEETINGS. 



265 



bro a d s i cl c i o x 1 2 i ii c h c s . 1 1 i s h ea d e d , Report of the Financial 
Concerns \ of the \ Town of Melrose, \ From May 20, 1830, to April 
/. iSji, and is sioned by Jonathan Cochran, Josiah W. Talbot 
■and John Blake, Financial Committee. A few of the items on 
this first report are worthy of note. It was the day of small 
things and small expenses when compared with our present 
labors and outlays. 

Jeremiah Martin, for Serv. as Selectman, $4— Running town 
lines, $10— Examining Dix Pond, Railing and Culverts, S2— 
Cash paid for Printing, S14.25— Laying out Streets, $12— 
Letting and Superintending Vinton Street, $4— Cash paid 
for Jury Box, and for Stationery, $5.90, . . . .552.15 
Isaac Emerson, Jr., Services as Selectman, etc., . . . 34.88 

Artemas Barrett, Services as Selectman, etc., .... 32.00 
Elbridge Green, for Services as Town Clerk, Express Bills, etc., 9.50 
Isaac Emerson, for Services as Treasurer, and for Blank Book, $9.13 

Caleb Howard and Elbridge Green School Committee, were 
paid $10, and $12, respectively. 

Shubael L. Taylor, Aaron Green, and William J. Farnsworth, 
Assessors, were paid respectively, S13.75, S15, and S17.25. 

The second annual report, from April i, i85i,to March 24, 
1852, formed quite a contrast to the first, being a pamphlet of 
sixteen pages. From year to year the annual report of the 
affairs of our city has been increasing in size, until for the 
year 1902, it took a volume of four hundred and forty-two 
pages. 

The number of legal town meetings that have been held to 
January i, 1900, is two hundred and fifteen, and there has been 
one hundred and five adjourned meetings. They have been 
held in the following places: 

Vestry of Protestant Methodist Church, . . i 

Congregational Meeting House, . 

Engine Hall, 

Academy, or Town Hall, 
Vestry of Universalist Church, 
Concert, or Good Templars' Hall, 

Unity Hall 

Lyceum J I all, 

and after the Town Hall was erected m 1873. all Town^Meet- 
ings were held therein. 



2 

28 

20 
22 
I I 
56 



266 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



The family of the late D. Alvin Lynde, who died February 
23, 1899, is the possessor of a broadside report showing- 
Expenses \ of the Tozvn of Maiden, \ for one Year, ending April ist, 
1826. One or two items of interest may be mentioned. The 
amount raised for the public schools for the whole town was 
Si, 200. Isaac Emerson of the North End, was one of the 
Selectmen, also an Assessor; and he received S17.50 for his 
services. James Crane, as Town Treasurer, received $10; 
and instead of there being a town debt, the committee, Charles 
Hill and Gilbert Haven, reported a " Balance in favor of the 
Town, $1,336.67." Mr. Lynde also owned an Annual Report \ of 
the I Financial Concerns \ of the \ Toivn of Maiden \ Mch. /, 1S44, 
six years before the incorporation of Melrose, when George 
Emerson of the North End, was one of the Selectmen, and 
several other names of citizens of the same section appear 
therein. That year $2,000 was the "Town Grant" for 
schools, of which sum $475.09 was spent for the " North 
District School." This report also shows a balance in favor of 
the Town, of $790.46. 

The Last Town Meeting. The last of the long series of 
Town Meetings for the Town of Melrose, was held in Town 




The last board of selectmen. 



FIRST AND LAST TOWN MEETINGS. 



267 



Hall, on Thursday evening, November 9, 1899. I-e\i S. Gould 
was chosen Moderator, it being the one hundred and eighth 
regularly called meeting over which he had been elected to 
preside; and he had also served as Moderator of one hundred 
and seven adjourned meetings; a total of two hundred and 
fifteen meetings. It is very doubtful if such another record of 
long service as Moderator of Town Meetings, can be instanced 
in New England or elsewhere. 

The warrant for this meeting was dated November I, and 
was issued and signed b\' the following oflficers. 
/ 




FACSIMILK SIGNATURES FROM THE LAST TOWN WARRANT. 

A True Copy. Attest : 

William L. Pierce, Constable. 

The warrant consisted of eleven articles, most of which were 
acted upon favorably: The sum of $200 was appropriated for 
the use of the Board of Health, and $1,500 for the purpose of 
making necessary alterations and repairs for use of the incom- 
ing City Government; two items of taxes which had been 
illegally assessed were refunded; certain main drains or com- 
mon sewers accepted as specified by the Sewer Commissioners; 
and to see if the citizens would \-ote to submit Chapter 344, 
Acts of 1S99, to the first city election in December, and which 
authorized the adoption of an eight hour law. 

Before the adjournment the following vote was unanimously 
adopted : 

Be it resolved by the citizens of Melrose in Town Meeting assembled 
that our heart}' thanks and commendation are due and hereby extend- 
ed to our fellow citizen, Hon, Levi S. Gould, who for so many years 
has presided over our deliberations with eminent parliamentarj' ability, 
dignity and fairness. 



CHAPTER X. 

CITY OF MELROSE. 

THE first mo\ement contemplating- a change in the form of 
government for the Town of Melrose, was made in 1895, 
when, at a Town Meeting held April 8, the following 
committee was appointed "to consider what improvement, if 
an}', can be made in the method of government of this town:" 
Col. Francis S. Hesseltine, Ro3^al P. Bariy, Sidney H. Buttrick, 
John Larrabee, George L. Morse, Joshua T. Nowell and Wil- 
liam N. Folsom. April 13, 1896, Col. Hesseltine made an out- 
line report on an impro\'ed form of government, resulting in 
the appointment of a committee of five " to elaborate and per- 
fect " the same. That committee was Col. Francis S. Hessel- 
tine, John Larrabee, Sidney H. Buttrick, George L. Morse, and 
Levi S. Gould. A report of this committee was made Novem- 
ber 16, when the whole matter was referred back to the same 
committee, with these additional names : George R. Jones, 
Nathan D. Blake, Winthrop Messenger and Rev. Joseph K. 
Wilson. 

This enlarged committee reported in print, June 3, 1897, and 
the report was "accepted and filed." June 7, the matter came 
up in a somewhat different form: it was voted 

That a committee of ten, five of whom shall prefer a city form 
of government and five a modification of the present town form of 
government, be appointed, who shall report to the town in writing a 
form of city government and a form of town government in such detail 
as is necessary to give a clear idea of the proposed forms ; that these 
reports shall be submitted to a town meeting to be called by the 
selectmen the first week in October ; that after a full discussion and 
amendments, if any, the vote shall be taken by ballot, the polls to be 
open for nine hours, beginning at noon. Each voter .shall vote " yes " 
or " no " on the question of retaining the present form of government. 
If a majority of those voting on this question shall \ote " no," then 
whichever plan shall receive a larger number of votes shall be drafted 
into a bill, which the committee shall then present to the forthcoming 
session of the legislature as the desire of the town. 



CITY OF MELROSE. 'iGO' 

October 7, this committee reported in print, and it was 
voted 

to proceed to the consideration of the proposed form of city charter 
first, section by section, and then the proposed form of modified town 
government in the same manner, perfectin<j^ them as the town desired 
before proceeding to final action on them. 

At this and four subsequent Town Meetino's the various 
articles in both forms of government were debated at length, 
and on November 23, the ballot was taken with the following 
result: 

Shall the present form of government be retained ? Yes, 4S6 ; No, 
455; scattering, 30; total 971. Proposed form of city charter, 424; 
proposed change in present form of town government, 356; blanks^ 
42; total S22. 

The next movement in the interest of a change was made at 
the Town Meeting held August 18, 1898, when the following 
\-ote was passed: 

That a committee of fifteen, consisting of the Moderator of this 
meeting, one member from the Board of Selectmen, one member from 
the Board of Sewer Commissioners, one member from the Board of 
Water Commissioners, and eleven members at large, be appointed 
to draft a City Charter for Melrose ; said Committee to be authorized 
to report in print at a special Town Meeting to be called for such pur- 
pose, by said Committee. 

This committee consisted of Levi S. Ciould, Eugene H. 
Moore, Curtis C. Goss, Seth E. Benson, John J. McCuIlough, 
John P. Deering, Erank R. Upham, Charles J. Barton, John W.' 
Earwell, P:dwin S. Small, Charles C. Barry, Erank L. Wash- 
burn, Clinton White, L. IIenr>- Kunhardt, and Oscar E. Erost. 

It was deemed best to get an expression of the citizens to 
see whether or not they desired a city; therefore a petition was 
sent to the Selectmen asking them to call a special Town 
Meeting for October 3, "to see if the Town will authorize and 
direct its Selectmen to petition the next General Court for a 
City Charter. Yes or no." In accordance with this the meet- 
ing was called and held, and a ballot taken, with the following 
result: Yes, 506; No. 335; Blank 2; Total, 843. 

After this expression of the voters in fa\or of a city, the 
committee of fifteen, after many meetings, and mature deliber- 
ation, submitted its report in print, at a Town Meeting held 
January 3, 1899, the same having been pre\iously circulated by 



270 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



distribution throughout the town; thus giving every'one oppor- 
tunity to read and consider. At this and three adjourned 
meetings, held January 9, 16 and 23, the charter was read and 
considered section by section; and, with a few amendments, was 
adopted by the Town very nearly in the text as reported by the 



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Very trily yours, 



THE CHARTER PEN. 

committee. The Selectmen, according to previous instruction, 
then proceeded to apply to the Legislature for the charter as 
adopted. This action was taken, and application made through 
our Representative to the General Court, Charles H. Adams. 
In due time the charter was reported to the House of Repre- 
sentatives as "An Act to Incorporate the City of Melrose." 



CITY OF MELROSE. 271 

It passed throu.fjh its various stages, and was sent to the Senate, 
where it was amended by striking out the referendum clause. 
The House afterwards concurred in the action of the Senate, 
and it was passed to be engrossed. It was signed by Gov. 
Wolcott March i8, 1899. 

A Town Meeting was called by the Selectmen, for May 8, 
when the Act of Incorporation was submitted to the voters of 
the town, for adoption or rejection, by the following question : 

Shall an act passed by the General Court in the year eighteen 
hundred and ninety-nine, entitled "An Act to incorporate the City of 
Melrose," be accepted? 

The result was as follows: Yes, 525; No, 218; Blank, i ; 
Total, 744. 

The Act of Incorporation has fifty-seven sections, sub-divid- 
ed as follows : Title I, Municipal Government ; Title II, Elec- 
tions and Meetings ; Title III, Legislative Department ; Title 
IV, Executive Department; Title V, School Department; 
Title VI, Departments and Ofificers ; Title VII, Public Library 
Department ; Title VIII, General Provisions. 

The charter thus accepted provided that the city be divided 
into seven wards by the Selectmen ; that the legislative de- 
partment shall consist of a Mayor, seven Aldermen-at-Large, 
and two Aldermen from each ward, a total of twenty-one Al- 
dermen. The Mayor and Ward Aldermen are to be elected 
annually, and the election of the Aldermen-at-Large so arrang- 
ed that four and three shall be elected alternately for two-year 
terms. The School Committee shall consist of nine persons, 
chosen by the city at large, and their election so arranged that 
three members shall be chosen annually. 

The Board of Aldermen shall elect a President to preside 
over its deliberations ; they shall also elect a City Clerk, City 
Treasurer, City Collector, and City Auditor. 

The executive powers of the City are invested in the Mayor, 
and he appoints, subject to the concurrence of the Board of 
Aldermen, the Assessors, Assistant Assessors, Overseers of the 
Poor, Trustees of the Public Library, Engineer and Superin- 
tendent of Public Works, City Solicitor, Chief of the Fire De- 
partment, Chief of Police, a Cemetery Committee, Registrars 
of Voters, and other minor officers. 

The first election for city officers under this charter took 
place December 12, 1899, when the following were electctl : 



272 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Mayor, Levi S. Gould. 

Aldermen-at-Large for two years, Charles j. Barton, Jona- 
than C. Howes, Chester Shepard, Clarence T. Fernald. 

Aldermen-at-Large for one year, Eugene H. Moore, Curtis 
C. Goss, William A. Carrie. 

Ward Aldermen, Arthur H. Folger, Charles E. French, Ward 
One ; Albert A. Day, George E. Gilchrist, Ward Two ; George 
R. Jones, Frank W. Foster, Ward Three ; Frank H. Damon, 



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John G. Robinson, Ward Four ; Edwin S. Small, Fred E. Ev- 
erett, W^ard Five ; Aaron Hill, Jr., George E. Berry, Ward Six ; 
Andrew J. Burnett, John E. Marshall, Ward Seven. No salary. 
School Committee, Arthur F. Amadou, Susan F. Flanders, 
John C. Maker, three years ; D. Eugene Curtis, Sarah A. Day, 
William D. Stewart, two years ; Ik'ssie B. Dearborn, Edward 
B. Marsh, Fred L. W^jod, one year. No salary. 



CITY OF MELROSE. 273 

The total vote thrown was : Male, 2,246 ; Female, 72. The 
vote on the License Question was : Yes, 477; No, 1,584. The 
vote on the Eight-Hour Question was : Yes, 1,389; No, 569. 

The new City Government met for organization Monday, 
January i, 1900, in City Hall, at 10 o'clock, when the oath of 
ofifice was administered to the Mayor and Aldermen by Town 
Clerk W. DeHaven Jones. The Board of Aldermen immedi- 
ately convened for its first session and elected George R. 
Jones, President. 

Mayor Gould delivered his inaugural address in the City 
Hall, in the evening of the same day, after which President 
Jones announced the various committees for the year ensuing. 
The committees are as follows: Ordinances, rules, orders and 
legislative matters; finance; highways, sewers, water and public 
grounds; accounts and surety bonds; claims; elections and re- 
turns, printing and supplies; fire department, electric and 
telephone wires; police department and licenses; street rail- 
ways and public lighting; public buildings; nominations and 
resolutions; state, military aid and soldiers' relief; public 
charities; public health; public instruction, and a special com- 
mittee on settlement with the Metropolitan Water Board. 

At subsequent meetings of the Board of Aldermen, the 
following officers were elected by the Aldermen for the year 
ensuing: 

W. DeHaven Jones, City Clerk; salary Si, 200. 
John Larrabee, City Treasurer; salary S750. 
James W. Murray, City Collector; salary ^1,000. 
Edwin C. Gould, City Auditor; salary S500. 
The Mayor, whose salary is S500 per annum, subsequently 
made all necessary appointments for the remaining city offices, 
which were confirmed by the Aldermen; the principal ones as 
follows: 

W. Dabney Hunter, Engineer and Superintendent of Public 
Works; salary §2,250. 

Frank L. Washburn, City Solicitor; salary S500. 

P>ank R. Upham, Chairman, Henry A. Leonard, Joseph 
Edwards, Assessors; salaries S900. 

Sidney H. Buttrick, Chairman, Matilda V.. Stantial. Albert 
B. Franklin, Overseers of the Poor; salaries S400. 

Dr. Clarence P. llolden. Chairman, William H. Dole 
Dr. Paul H. Provandie, Board of Health; sal.iries $300. 



274 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Elbridge H. Goss, Chairman, Charles C. Barry, Trustees of 
the Public Library for three years; no salary. 

The other Trustees holding over were Mrs. Maria L. Chapin, 
Secretary, and Neil A. Divver, one year, and Charles A. Patch, 
Treasurer, and Mrs. Rub)- F. Farwell, two years. 

Frank M. McLaughlin, Chief of Police; salary $i,ooo, paid 
from the $11,500 police department appropriation. 

A. Wilbur Lynde, Chief of the Fire Department; salary $100, 
paid from the $11,500 fire department appropriation. 

Other appointments are given in the chapters devoted to 
the respective subjects; the rest in the annual reports. 

At the second city election, which took place December ii, 
igoo, the following officers were elected: 

Mayor, John Larrabee. 




Aldermen-at-Large, two years, William A.Carrie, Eugene H. 
Moore and M. P'rank Eastman. 

Ward Aldermen: Ward One, Arthur H. P^olger, Charles E. 



CITY OF MELROSE. 275 

French; Ward Two, Albert A. Day, George E. Cornwall; 
Ward Three, Frank W. Foster, Elbridge H. Goss; Ward Four, 
Moses S. Page, John G. Robinson; Ward Five, Fred E, 
Everett, Edwin S. Small; Ward Six, Charles N. Shute, Aaron 
Hill, Jr.; Ward Seven, Andrew J. Burnett, John E. Marshall. 

School Committee: Three years, Mrs. Bessie B. Dearborn, 
Edward B. Marsh and Fred L. Wood. 

At the first meeting of the Board of Aldermen, January i, 
1901, Mayor Larrabee delivered his inaugural address, John 
G. Robinson was elected President, and the following offi- 
cers were re-elected : W. DeHaven Jones, City Clerk; James 
W. Murray, City Collector; and Edwin C. Gould, City Auditor. 
William R. Lavender was elected City Treasurer to take the 
place of Mayor Larrabee. Later the Mayor made the follow- 
ing appointments, which were confirmed by the Board of Al- 
dermen: W. Dabney Hunter, Engineer and Superintendent of 
Public Works; Frank L. Washburn, City Solicitor, both re- 
appointments; Frank R. Upham, reappointed, and William 
Morss and Walter C. Stevens, Assessors. Dr. Paul H. Pro- 
vandie and William H. Dole, reappointed, and Joseph H. 
Robinson, Board of Health; Mr. Dole resigned and Dr. John 
T. Timlin was appointed in his place. Sidney H. Buttrick and 
Albert B. Franklin, reappointed, Matilda E. Stantial, holding 
over, Overseers of the Poor. Trustees of the Public Library; 
Edward M. Mun}'an for the unexpired term of Elbridge H. 
Goss, who resigned; Miss Mary L. Charles, for the unexpired 
term of Mrs. Ruby F. Farwell, who resigned; and Mrs. Maria 
L. Chapin and Neil A. Divver for the three years' term. 
Frank M. McLaughlin, Chief of Police. A. Wilbur Lynde 
Chief Engineer of the Fire Department. 

The standing committees of the Board of Aldermen for this 
year were increased by adding the following: On buildings; 
City Clerk and cemeter>'; public schools and libraries; Solici- 
tor and Collector; and Treasurer and Assessors. 

The Engineer and Superintendent of Public Works has 
charge of all matters pertaining to the water works, sewers 
and highways, and appoints assistant superintendents of the 
same; for water works he appointed James W. Riley for the 
three years; and for sewers, Bartley Maloney, and for high- 
ways, James Marshall. 

The first vacancy in the Board of Aldermen occurring since 
the organization of the city government, was caused by the 



276 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

death of Alderman-at-Large Jonathan C. Howes, who died 
suddenly on the morning of February Q, IQOI. A special 
meeting of the Board was called by Mayor Larrabee, for 
Tuesday evening, February ii. Speeches of heartfelt regret 
and appreciation were made by his brother Aldermen; resolu- 
tions were adopted, and it was voted to attend in a body, the 
funeral, which took place Wednesday, February 12. Charles 
W. H. Frederick was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the 
death of Alderman Howes. 

The third election for city officers, took place December 10,. 
1901, with the following result: 

Mayor, John Larrabee. 

Aldermen-at-Large, two years: Charles J. Barton, George E. 
Berry, Clarence T. Fernald, and Arthur H. Folger. 

Ward Aldermen: Ward One, William N. Folsom, Charles 
E. French; Ward Two, George E. Cornwall, Oliver B. Munroe; 
Ward Three, Albert B. Franklin, Daniel E. Gibson; Ward 
Four, Moses S. Page, John G. Robinson; Ward Five, Fred E. 
Everett, Edward S. Page; Ward Six, Aaron Hill, Jr., Charles 
N. Shute; Ward Seven, Andrew J. Burnett, Charles W. Eaton. 

School Committee for three years: Don E. Curtis, Sarah A. 
Day, William D. Stewart. 

Voteonthe License Question: Yes, 292; No. 1,326; majority 
for no license, 1,034. 

The first meeting of the newly elected Board of Aldermen 
took place in the Aldermanic Chamber, Januar}^ 6, 1902, when 
His Honor, Mayor John Larrabee delivered his second inaug- 
ural address. John G. Robinson was elected President of the 
Board, and the following officers were elected: W. DeHaven 
Jones, City Clerk; William R. Lavender, City Treasurer; 
James W. Murray, City Collector; and Edwin C. Gould, City 
Auditor. 

A few changes only were made in the several appointments 
by the Mayor: L. Frank Hinckley, Assessor, in place of 
Walter C. Stevens, and William S. Soule, Overseer of the Poor, 
in place of Albert B, P^ranklin. 



CHAPTER XI. 

TOWN AND CITY OFI^ICERS. 

THE City Charter which went into operation January i, 
1900, provides the manner in which the Mayor, Board 
of Aldermen, and School Committee shall be elected; 
also that the Clerk, Treasurer, Collector and Auditor are to be 
-elected annually by the Board of Aldermen; also for the ap- 
pointment by the Mayor of the various officers of the several 
departments, viz: Assessors, Overseers of the Poor, Board of 
Health, Law% Fire, Police, Public Works and Public Library. 
The names of the Mayors, Aldermen, Clerk, Treasurer, Col- 
lector and Auditor that have served since Melrose became a 
city, have been given in the previous chapter; and those of the 
School Committees, Water Commissioners, Sewer Commis- 
sioners, Park Commissioners, Board of Health, Trustees of the 
Public Library and Cemetery Committees, that have served 
under Town and City organizations, are given in chapters, 
"Educational History," "Spot Pond Water Works," "Sew- 
erage," "Board of Health," " Parks," "Cemeteries," and " Pub- 
lic Library." Other principal officers follow: 

TOWN MODERATORS. 

While Melrose was a Town, from 1850 to 1900, a Mod^-rator 
was chosen for each regularly called Town Meeting, who also 
presided at any adjourned meeting of the same. The follow- 
ing are the names of those who have thus served the Town: 

Regular Meetings. Henry Sprague, Daniel W. Gooch, 
Jacob K. Dunham, Franklin Taylor, Elbridge Green, Ephraim 
Avery, George Emerson, Charles F. Estey, Thomas W. Chad- 
bourne, James C. Currier and Moses Briggs, one each; Caleb 
Howard, Rev. John C. Ingalls, John T. Paine, Shubael L. 
Taylor, Aaron Green, Joseph R. Simonds, William B. Burgess, 
Napoleon B. Bryant and Walter Babb, two each ; Henry 
A. Norris, three times; James M. Thresher, and Philip B. 



278 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Holmes, four each; James M. Beckett, six times; Jeremiah 
Martin and German S. Phippen, thirteen each; Nelson Coch- 
ran, twenty-two times; John H. Clark, twenty-three times; 
Levi S. Gould, one hundred and eight times. 

Adjourned Meetings. James M. Thresher, Thomas W. 
Chadbourne, German S. Phippen, and William B. Burgess, one 
each; John H. Clark, two times; Nelson Cochran, three times; 
Levi S. Gould, one hundred and seven times. 

In testimony of the appreciation of the service of Hon. Levi 
S. Gould as Moderator, the following vote was passed, hand- 
somely engrossed, framed and presented to him March ii, 
1884: 

The Inhabitants of Melrose in Town Meeting assembled, Tuesday, 
March 11, 1884, Voted, unanimousl}'. That the thanks of the Town be 
presented to Levi S. Gould, Esq., for the able and impartial manner 
in which he has discharged his duties as Moderator of this meeting, 
and for his faithful service in the past, this being the thirty-eighth 
time he has been elected to the office, and the sixt3^-first meeting, in- 
cluding adjourned meetings of the Town, over which he has presided. 

In i8go, Mr. Gould had served so many times in addition to 
the above, and so acceptably, as Moderator of our Town 
Meetings, that the Town again desired to testifiy to its appre- 
ciation of his services, and present him with some additional 
testimonial. The number of times he had served at that time 
was an unusually large one; but many more elections to that 
office have since been added. Therefore, at an adjourned 
meeting held November 8, 1890, a committee consisting of 
Col. Francis S. Hesseltine, George T. Brown and Major Wilbur 
D. Fiske, was appointed 

to prepare or procure a suitable testimonial to be presented to Levi S. 
Gould for the faithful and impartial manner in which he has discharged 
his duties as Moderator, this being his sixtieth election to the office, 
and the 114th meeting, including adjournments, over which he has 
presided without compensation. 

At the meeting held March 7, 1891, this committee reported 
and presented to Mr. Gould, in behalf of the Town, a gold 
jewel, and a silver pitcher, both of which were suitably 
inscribed, showing a just appreciation of his services as 
Moderator. 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. 



279 




GOULU TKSTI.MKMAl.S.' 
^ The inscription on the jewel is i8, 1890 — voted this testimonial for 
as follows : " The Town of Melrose his faithful and impartial discharge 
to Levi S. Gould, on his sixtieth of the duties of the office." 
election as Moderator, November 



280 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Since that date he has been elected forty-eight times, and 
has in addition presided over fifty-three adjourned meetings; 
making the total number of Town Meetings over which he has 
presided two hundred and fifteen; covering a period of thirty- 
five years, being first elected at the March Meeting in 1865. 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. 



SELECTMEN. 



1850. 
Jeremiah Martin. 
Isaac Emerson, Jr. 
Artemas Barrett. 

1851. 
Jeremiah Martin. 
Shubael L. Taylor. 
Jonathan Cochran. 

1852. 

Jeremiah Martin. 
Franklin Taylor. 
Rufus Flint. 

1853. 
Franklin Taylor. 
Ephraim Avery. 
Henry Sprague. 

1854. 

George Emerson. 

John Blake. 

James M. Thresher. 

1855. 
John Blake. 
James M. Thresher. 
James M. Beckett. 

1856. 
George M. Fletcher. 
William E. Fuller. 
James M. Beckett. 

18.57. 
George M. Fletcher. 
William E. Fuller. 
Benjamin F. Abbott. 

1858. 
Elbridge Gardner. 
Ephraim Avery. 
Nelson Cochran. 



1859. 
Elbridge Gardner. 
William J. Farnsworth. 
George M. Fletcher. 

1860. 

George Emerson. 
Nelson Cochran. 
William J. Farnsworth. 

1861. 
William B. Burgess. 
George M. Fletcher. 
John H. Clark. 
1862-1863. 
John H. Clark. 
William B. Burgess. 
George M. Fletcher. 

1864. 
John H. Clark. 
William B. Burgess. 
William E. Fuller. 

1865-66-67. 
Wingate P. Sargent. 
George M. F'letcher. 
Isaac Emerson. 

1868. 

Wingate P. Sargent. 
James C. Currier. 
George Newhall. 
1869. 

Levi S. Gould. 
James C. Currier. 
Josejih D. Wilde. 

1870. 

James C. Currier. 
Daniel Russell. 
Francis P. Woodbury. 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. 



281 



1871. 
James C. Currier. 
Daniel Russell. 
Johu H. Clark. 

1872. 
Daniel Russell. 
Johu H. Clark. 
George F. Stone. 

1873. 
Stephen F. Keyes. 
William J. Farnsworth. 
Charles T. Stevens. 

1874. 
Walter Babb. 
Henry G. Fields. 
George A. Mansfield. 

1875. 
Walter Babb. 
Henry G. Fields. 
George A. Mansfield. 

1876. 
Walter Babb. 
Henry G. Fields, 
l^athau D. Blake. 

1877. 
Walter Babb. 
Henry G. Fields. 
Nathan D. Blake. 

1878. 
Nathan D. Blake. 
Henry G. Fields. 
Charles H. Edmonds. 

1879-80-81-82. 
Daniel Norton, Jr. 
Henry G. Fields. 
Joseph F. Boyd. 

1888. 
Daniel Norton, Jr. 
Heury G. Fields. 
Joseph F. Boyd. 

1884. 
Daniel Norton, Jr. 
Henry G. Fields. 
William Boynton. 

1885-8(3. 
Levi S. Gould. 
Henry G. Fields. 
John K. Currier. 



1887. 
Levi S. Gould. 
John B. Souther. 
John P. Deering. 

1888-89-90-91-92. 
Levi S. Gould. 
John P. Deering. 
Charles W. Higgins. 

1893. 
Daniel Norton. 
Charles W. Cook. 
Eugene H. Moore. 
William A. Waterhouse. 
Sidney H. Buttrick. 

1894-95. 
Daniel Norton. 
Charles W. Cook. 
Eugene H. Moore. 
John P. Deering. 
Sidney H. Buttrick. 

1896. 

Eugene H. Moore. 
Harry A. Batchelder. 
Roswell C. Taylor. 
Sidney D. Farrar. 
Sidney H. Buttrick. 

1897. 
Eugene H. Moore. 
Harry A. Batchelder. 
Sidney D. Farrar. 
Sidney H. Buttrick. 
Jonathan C. Howes. 

1898. 
Sidney H. Buttrick. 
Eugene H. Moore. 
Sidney D. Farrar. 
Jonathan C. Ilov^-es. 
L. Frank Hinckley. 

1890. 
Sidney H. 'Buttrick. 
Jonathan C. Howes. 
L. Frank Hinckley. 
William A. Carrie. 
Charles J. Barton. 



282 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



1850. 
Aaron Green. 
Shubael L. Taylor. 
William J. Farnsworth. 

1851. 

Shubael L. Taylor. 
Aaron Green. 
Rufus H. Flint. 

1852. 
Aaron Green. 
German S. Phippeu. 
Henry Sprague. 

1853. 
Isaac Emerson. 
Joshua Upham. 
George W. Barrett. 

1854. 

Jonathan Cochran. 
German S. Phippen. 
Asa Upham. 

1855. 
George M. Fletcher. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
E. P. Evans. 

1856. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Benjamin Linniken. 
George M. Fletcher. 

1857. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
George M. Fletcher. 
Joseph Holbrook. 

1858. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Joseph Holbrook. 
Henry Robinson. 

1859. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Heurj' Robinson. 
William E. Fuller. 

1860. 

Jonathan Cochran. 
William B. Burgess. 
George M. Fletcher. 



ASSESSORS. 

1861. 
Edward P. Nevins. 
Joseph R. Simonds. 
Thomas B. Merrick. 

1862. 
Edward P. Nevins. 
George M. Fletcher. 
Stephen Shelton. 

1863-64. 
Edward P. Nevins. 
Stephen Shelton. 
George M. Fletcher. 

1865-66. 
George Emerson. 
Joel Snow. 
George M. Fletcher. 

1867. 
George M. Fletcher. 
George Emerson. 
Joel Snow. 

1868-69. 
Erastus O. Phinney. 
Aaron Green. 
Elbridge Green. 

1870. 
David Fairbanks. 
Elbridge Green. 
John R. Jones. 

1871 
Samuel O. Dearborn. 
Henry A. Norris. 
Azel E. Steele. 

1872. 
.Samuel O. Dearborn. 
George W. Farnsworth. 
Azel E. Steele. 

1873. 
Elbridge Green. 
George W. Farnsworth. 
Aaron Green. 

1874. 
Charles H. Edmonds. 
George F. Boardman. 
M. L. Ray. 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. 



283 



1875-76. 
Charles H. Edmonds. 
James C. Currier. 
George W. Farnsworth. 

1877. 
John R. Jones 
James C. Currier. 
Charles T. Stevens. 

1878. 
James C. Currier. 
Charles T. Stevens. 
Henry A. Leonard. 

1879-80-81-82. 
George C. Stantial. 
James C. Currier. 
Dexter Pratt. 

1883. 
George C. Stantial. 
Henry A. Leonard. 
Dexter Pratt. 

1884. 

Herbert H. Westgate. 
George F. Boardman. 
Dexter Pratt. 
1885. 
George C. Stantial. 
George F. Boardman. 
Gilbert N. Harris. 

1886-87. 
George C. Stantial. 
George F. Boardman. 
Moses Briggs. 



1888. 
John R. Norton. 
Moses Briggs. 
Albon W. Parker. 

1889. 
John R. Norton. 
Charles W. Cook. 
Albon W. Parker. 

1890-91-92. 
Henry A. Leonard. 
John R. Norton. 
Dexter Pratt. 

1893-94-95-96-97. 
George C. Stantial. 
Henry A. Leonard. 
Dexter Pratt. 
1898-99. 

Henry A. Leonard. 
Frank R. Upham. 
Joseph Edwards. 

CITY. 

1900. 
Frank R. Upham. 
Henry A. Leonard. 
Joseph Edwards. 

1901. 
Frank R. Upham. 
William Morss. 
Walter C. Stevens. 

1902. 
Frank R. Upham. 
William Morss. 
L. Frank Hinckley. 



TOWN CLERKS. 

Elbridge Green, one year, 

Jonathan Cochran, two years, (several times 

elected Clerk /ro /"^wi.) . 
Frances Bugl)ee, four years. 
Mason M. Flint, /ro tent, (resigned) . 
Chas. H. Shepard, />rc> i'^w., 
Chas. H. Shepard, (resigned December 30 
Edward R. Knights, six years, . 
Stinson Sewall, four years, 
David Fairbanks, two years, 
James Worthen, two years, . 
John Larrabee, twenty-one 3'ears, 



1850 

1851-1852 

1853-1856 

1857 

1857 

1858 

1S59-1864 

1865-1868 

I 869-1 870 

1871-1872 

1 873- 1 894. 



284 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Edward K. Bordman, four years, (died Decem- 
ber 14, '98) 1895-1898 

W. DeHaven Jones, two years, .... 1898-1899 



CITY CLERKS. 



W. DeHaven Jones, 



1900-1902 



TREASURERS. 

TOWN. 
Isaac Emerson, four years, 
John Blake, one year, .... 
Caleb Howard, ten years, 
David Fairbanks, six years, 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D., one year, 
David Fairbanks, two years, 
George Newhall, twenty-six years, 



I 850-1 853 
1854 
1855-1864 
1865-1870 
1871 
1872-1873 
I 8 74- I 899 



CITY. 



John Larrabee, one year, 
William R. Lavender, . 



1900 
1901-1902 



COLLECTORS OF TAXES. 

TOWN. 
Isaac Emerson, one year, 
Shubael L. Taylor, one year. 
Freeman Upham, one year, 
Asa Slocum, one year, 
William N. Wilkinson, one year, 
Caleb Howard, four years, . 
Stephen J. Phinney, two years, . 
George Newhall, three years, 
John Smith, one year, . 
David Fairbanks, two years, 
George M. Fletcher, (Dept. Collector 
Aaron Green, one year, 
George F. Boardman, five years, 
Ansel B. Pierce, five years, . 
John R. Jones, two years, 
Moses Briggs, one year, 
Jonathan C. Howes, three j^ears, 
Lewis G. Coburn, one year, 
Moses F. Eastman, three years, . 
Parker Merrill, two years, . 
Addison Lane, eight years, . 
James W. Murray, two years. 



CITY. 



James W. Murray, 







1850 






I85I 






1852 






1853 






1854 






I855-IS58 






I859-I860 






I86I-I863 






1864 






I865-I866 


) 




1866 

1867 

I868-I872 

I873-I877 

I878-I879 
1880 

I88I-I883 
1884 

I885-I887 

I 888- I 889 
I 890- I 897 
I 898- 1899 

1900-1902 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. 



28& 



TOWN 

1850. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Josiah W. Talbot. 
John Blake. 

1851. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Isaac Emerson. 

1852. 
George Emerson. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. D. 

1853. 
Erastus O. Phinney, M. 
George Emerson. 
Jonathan Cochran. 

1854. 
George Emerson. 
John Blake. 
James M. Thresher. 

1855. 
William B. Burgess. 
Erastus O. Phinney. 
James M. Thresher. 



ISGl. 
Philip B. Holmes. 
William Pierce. 
Aaron Green. 

1862. 
Samuel O. Dearborn. 
Philip B. Holmes. 
J' hn R. Norton. 

1863. 

Samuel O. Dearborn. 
Philip B. Holmes. 
John R. Norton. 

1864. 
John R. Norton. 
Daniel W. Wilcox. 
Stephen Shelton. 

1865. 
Daniel W. Wilcox. 
John L. Andrews. 
Henry A. Norris. 



AUDITORS. 

IfIN.\N'CIAL COMMITTEE. 
1856. 
Aaron Green. 
William B. Burgess. 
Jonathan Cochran. 

1857. 
Jonathan Cochran. 
Aaron Green. 
William B. Burgess. 

1858. 
Erastus O. Phinney. 
William J. Farnsworth. 
J) George F. Boardman. 

1859. 
Erastus O. Phiuney. 
Aaron Green. 
German S. Phippen. 

1860. 
Philip B. Holmes. 
Aaron Green. 
William Pierce. 



TOWN AUDITORS. 

1866. 
Daniel W. Wilcox. 
John L. Andrews. 
Henry A. Norris. 

1867. 
John L. Andrews. 
Henry A. Norris. 
Levi S. Gould. 

1868-69. 
Thomas W. Chadbourue. 
Oren H. Peck. 
Elbridge H. Goss. 

1870. 
Elbridge H. Goss. 

1871-72-73-74. 
Elbridge H. Goss. 
John R. Norton. 

1875. 
Elbridge H. Goss. 
John R. Norton. 



286 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



1876-77-78. 
John R. Norton. 
Frank E. Orcutt. 

1879-80-81-82. 
John R. Norton. 
Frank E. Orcutt. 
Ernest Mendum. 

1883-84. 
John R. Norton. 
Frank E. Orcutt. 
Gilbert N. Harris. 

1885-86. 
John R. Norton. 
Frank E. Orcutt. 
Walter I. Nickerson. 



1887. 
Frank E. Orcutt. 
Walter I. Nickerson. 
Gilbert N. Harris. 
1888-89-90. 
Frank E. Orcutt. 
Walter I. Nickerson. 
Gilbert N. Harris. 

1891. 
Edwin C. Gould, to incorporation 
of the City. 

CITY AUDITOR. 

1900-01-02. 
Edwin C. Gould. 



TOWN COUNSEL. 

The office of Town Counsel, to take charge of the legal mat- 
ters that arise from time to time, was first inaugurated in 1897, 
when Frank L. Washburn was appointed to that position by 
the Selectmen, in accordance with the following vote, passed 
April 13, 1897 : 

Voted, That the selectmen be authorized to employ a competent 
person who shall serve as town counsel, whose duty shall be to furnish 
legal advice to the various officers whenever desired, and also prose- 
cute and defend all actions for and against the town during the current 
year. Salary #500. 

Mr. Washburn held the office until Melrose became a City, 
when the office was designated as 

CITY SOLICITOR. 

Mr. Washburn has been elected to that office by the J3oard 
of Aldermen for the years 1900, 1901, 1902. 

WATER LOAN SINKING FUND COMMISSIONERS. 

Section 7 of the act "In Addition to an Act to incorporate 
the Spot Pond Water Company," which gave the three towns 
of Melrose, Maiden and Medford the right to purchase the 
franchise, property, rights and privileges of the "Spot Pond 
Water Company," reads as follows: 



The surplus of the net income derived from said water-works after 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. 287 

payment of the semi-annual interest upon said scrip, and after de- 
ducting all charges of distribution and repairs, and other expenses 
incident to the same, and all amounts appropriated from time to time 
by said towns for the payment of the principal sum thereof, under the 
provisions of this act, shall, in each town, be set apart as a sinking 
fund, which, with the accumulated interest upon the same, shall be 
devoted to the payment of said scrip of said town at maturity. 

A Board of Water Loan Sinking Fund Commissioners was 
first elected by the Town, March 25, 1878, for the purpose of 
investing and caring for these yearly accumulations. The 
following gentlemen were then elected and have served in 
that capacity under both Town and City governments from 
that time until the present. 

WATER LOAN SINKING FUND COMMISSIONERS. 



Daniel Russell, ....... 1878-1899 

Royal P. Barry, ....... 1878-1899 

Johu W. Farwell, . 1S78-1899 

CITV. 

Daniel Russell, 1900-1902 

Royal P. Barry, 1900-1902 

John W. Farwell, ....... 1900-1902 

At the Town Meeting held March 7, 1S9S, it was 

Voted, To establish a sinking fund for the payment of general in- 
debtedness, in accordance with the provisions of law, and to proceed 
to elect three sinking fund commissioners, one for one }ear, one for 
two years, and one for three years. The following were elected and 
have served by election and appointment : 

SINKING FUND COMMISSIONERS. 

TOWN. 

John W. Farwell, 1898-1899 

Royal P. Barry 1 898-1 899 

Daniel Russell 1898-1899 



John W. Farwell, ....... 1900-X902 

Royal P. Barry, ....... 1900-1902 

Daniel Russell, ....... 1900-1902 



288 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



REGISTRARS OF VOTERS. 

In 1884, the Legislature passed an act authorizing and estab 
lishing a new board of officers consisting of three members 
with the Town Clerk as an ex-officio member, whose duties- 
should be to take charge of all matters pertaining to the 
registration of voters. The Selectmen appointed the follow- 
ing: John B. Souther for one year, Walter Babb for two years 
and Alfred Hocking for three years. The following have 
been the appointments from year to year, by Selectmen and 
Mayors, with terms of service: 



Johu B. Souther, . 
Walter Babb, . 
Alfred Hocking, . 
Victor C. Kirmes, . 
Charles W. Cochrane, 
Edgar R. Somes, . 
Herbert A. Marsh, 
Edwin L. Cragin, . 



The Clerks have been ex-officio men 



John Larrabee, 
Edward K. Bordnian, 
W. DeHaven Jones, 



bers: 



I 884-1 887 
I 884-1 897 
1884-1897 
1887- 
I 897-1 900 
1897-1900 
1900- 
1900- 



I 884-1 893 
1893-1898 
1898- 



Present members: Herbert A. Marsh, Chairman, Victor C. 
Kirmes and Edwin L. Cragin. 

The other duties of the Board, besides the registration of 
voters, consists of preparing lists of Jurors to be submitted 
to the Board of Aldermen for approval, and the settlement of 
all election controversies. Salaries $50 each; clerk the same. 

Other positions held by Melrose citizens, in Town, City and 
Nation, elective and appointed, as follows: 

Members of Congress. Daniel W. Gooch, 35th, 36th, 37th,. 
38th, 39th and 43d Congresses. William E. Barrett, 54th and 
55th Congresses. 

Naval Officer, Port of Boston. Daniel W. Gooch, 1865. 

Pension Agent, Boston. Daniel W. Gooch, 1875-1886. 

Commissioner of Internal Revenue for Boston District. 
Frank PI Orcutt, 1 889-1 892. 

Senators. Samuel P^. Sewall, 1852;- Daniel Russell, 1879-80; 
B. Marvin Fernald, 1891-92; George R. Jones, 1901-02. 

2 Mr. Sewall was elected to the residence was just over the line 
Senate as from Stoneham. His from Melrose, in that part of Stone- 



TOWN AND CITY OFFICERS. ' ii89 

Representatives. John T. Paine, 1851; Daniel W. Gooch, 
1852; Samuel O. Dearborn, 1853; John Vial, 1855; Guy Lamkin, 
1857; Walter Littlefield, Jr., 1858; Loren L. Fuller, 1859; 
Artemas Barrett, 1861; Isaac Emerson, Jr., 1863-64; Rufus 
Smith, 1866; Levi S. Gould, 1868-69; James C. Currier, 1871; 
Nelson Cochran, 1872; Elbridge H. Goss, 1874-75; W. Irving 
Ellis, 1877-78; Joseph D. Wilde, 1879-80; B. Marvin Fernald, 
1881-82; Wingate P. Sargent, 1883-84; John VV. Farvvell, 1885; 
John Larrabee, 1886-87; William E. Barrett, 1888-89-90-91- 
92-93; George R. Jones, 1894-95-96-97-98; Charles H.Adams, 
I 899- I 900-0 I -02. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. William E. Bar- 
rett, 1889-90-91-92-93. 

Count}^ Commissioner, Middlesex County. Levi S. Gould, 
1897-. 

Governor's Council. Charles F. Loring, 1892. Not sworn 
in; died January 28, 1892. 

Presidential Elector. George L. Morse, 1901. 

Harbor and Land Commissioner. Clinton White, 1897-1900 

Railroad Commissioner. Clinton White, 1901-. 

Civil Service Commissioner for INIelrose. George H. Dear- 
born, 1902. 

United States Consul to St. Pierre, Martinique, West Indies. 
Thomas T. Prentis, 1901-. Mr. Prentis, wife and two 
daughters were destroyed by the dreadful eruption of Mt. 
Pelee, May 8, 1902. 



ham, now known as " Sewall estate several years before Melrose 
Woods Park," which was set off to was incorporated. 
Melrose, in 1853. He bought the 



CHAPTER XII. 

SPOT POND WATER WORKS. 

NESTLED amid the higher lands of Stoneham and Med- 
ford, and in the very centre of the wild and beautiful 
Middlesex Fells Reservation, lies Spot Pond. Orig- 
inally the pond was much smaller than it is now, but was 
largely increased in area by the building of a dam by the 
Sprague family, which had possession of it for over a hun- 
dred years, many of which were spent in litigation in the main- 
taining of these rights: 

Still this old hero, Timothy Sprague, at great cost and sacrifice of 
time, always came off victorious. He was greatly annoyed and har- 
assed through his life, which was frequently in danger. But for this 
unflinching old veteran the dam would long ago have been removed, 
and the pond have been worthless for the puiposes for which it is now 
used. To the several towns now enjoying this luxury he proved to 
be a great benefactor; for, in fighting these battles for himself he 
was laboring to bless future generations, and is deserving of their 
gratitude.! 

The high-water mark of the pond up to the time when it 
was taken by the iVIetropolitan Water Commissioners, was one 
hundred and forty-three feet above marsh level, and its area, 
when full, was two hundred and ninety-six acres. The purity^ 
of its water having been proven by analyzation caused Boston 
to cast wistful eyes toward it, previous to the introduction of 
Cochituate water into Boston in 1848. Not until 1867, was 
any action taken to secure this natural reservoir of water to 
the inhabitants of the surrounding towns. In that year Samuel 
PI. Sewall, Daniel W. Gooch and George W. Heath, of Melrose, 
Pllisha S. Converse, George P. Cox, and John H. Abbott, of 
Maiden, and James O. Curtis, Charles V. Bemis and Benjamin 
F. Ha}'es, of Medford, their associates atkl successors 

^ Timothy Sprague and Spot Poud, by Artenias Barrett, in Melrose 
Journal, January 31, 1885. 



SPOT POND WATER WORKS. 291 

are hereby made a coq^oration b}' the name of the Spot Pond Water 
Company, for the purpose of supplj-ing the inhabitants of said Melrose, 
Maiden and Medford, with pure water. 

More than two years passed away before anything was done 
by either Melrose, Maiden or Medford toward purchasing the 
franchise of this Company, according to one of the provisions 
of the act, when almost simultaneous action was taken by the 
three towns; the Town Meeting for Melrose being duly warned 
for Friday evening, September 24, 1869, at Lyceum Hall, at 
which time the subject of supplying our town with water was 
to be discussed and acted upon. At this meeting the following 
vote was passed: 

That the town of Melrose, — the towns of Medford and Maiden, or 
either of them, concurring, — purchase the franchise of the Spot Pond 
Water Company and all its corporate property, according to the pro- 
visions of an act to incorporate the Spot Pond Water Company, 
approved May 4, 1867. And that a commission of five be appointed 
by this Town to act in concurrence with commissions appointed by 
both or either of the other said towns. And that said commissioners 
be authorized in concurrence with the commissioners of said other 
towns, or either of them, to purchase the franchise of the Spot Pond 
Water Company and contract for the building of water works, at any 
time within one year from this date, at a cost to this town for its 
proportion of the expense of said franchise, works at the pond, main 
pipe to Warren Lynde's, and street pipes for this town, not exceeding 
the sum of sixty thousand dollars ($60,000). Said contracts to be 
submitted to the Town for ratification before being binding. 

The following were elected to act as Water Commissioners: 
Wingate P. Sargent, Jeremiah Martin, Elbridge Green, Dexter 
Bryant and Joel Snow. 

At a Town Meeting held October 7, 1869, these Commission- 
ers made a report stating that the works would cost $60,000. 
This report was accepted and adopted; and, in conjunction 
with the Commissioners of Maiden and Medford, the franchise 
was purchased of the Spot Pond Water Compan)', December 
7, 1869, a contract was made b\' the Commissioners of Maiden 
and Melrose with George H. Norman, then of Newport, R. I., 
for the construction of the main water-works at the pond, and 
through Wyoming Avenue and Main Street to the house of 
Warren Lynde; and May 10, 1870, a contract was concluded 
between the Town of Melrose and Mr. Norman, to build the 



292 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

distributing works for the town, to be done on or before Sep- 
tember I, 1870. As the work progressed it was found neces- 
sary to extend the works over additional territory at a cost of 
;^30,000. The contractor completed his work, and water was 
let on to the pipes, and the town supplied with water, August 
25, 1870, nearly a week before the contract date. The cost of 
the works at that date was $96,663.56. 

Since then, year after year, as the town has increased in 
population, new construction pipes have been laid through the 
streets, to meet the demands of our growing community.- 

Our local system now consists of forty-six and one-half 
miles of main distributing pipes, varying in size from ^ inches 
in diameter to 16 inches in diameter. Nearly one-half of 
these are iron pipes, and the rest are cement-lined pipes; and 
within our territory there is one and nine-tenths miles of 
48 inch iron pipe laid by the Metropolitan Water System; and 
there are 3,177 taps or service pipes supplying water to 3,707 
separate families, stores, churches, factories and other require- 
ments, from which the present income to the city is nearly 
^^50,000 annually. There are now 267 hydrants for fire purposes. 

The total cost of construction of our local system of water- 
works to January 31, 1902, has been $425,895.51, of which 
$198,895.51 has been paid; leaving the present indebtedness on 
account of water works as follows: 

Water Loan Bonds, series of 1885, due Nov. i, 1905, $37,000 
Water Loan Bonds, series of 1897, due May i, 1907, 50,000 
Water Loan Bonds, series of 1892, due May i, 1912, 25,000 
Water Loan Bonds, series of 1892, due Sept. I, 1912, 37,000 
Water Loan Bonds, series of 1893, due Oct. i, 1913, 50,000 
Water Loan Bonds, series of 1895, due July i, 1925, 38,000 

Total, . . $237,000 
A " Water Loan Sinking Fund " was established according 
to a provision in the original act, and each year, after deduct- 
ing the cost of maintenance of the works, interest on bonds, 

2 At the dedication of our Town the hue of health, send vigor to 

Hall, October 17, 1874, George F. the languid frame aud arrest, as it 

Stone, in his address speaks of were, by nod, the devouring ele- 

Spot Pond and its supply as fol- ment. It brightens our landscapes, 

lows : " Spot Pond — hung as a mas- paints our lawns, ministers to vege- 

sive pearl upon our highest border, table and animal life alike, and pro- 

that by our acceptance of its bless- claims in liquid and sparkling tones 

jugs we may tint the cheek with His exhaustless goodness, new with 



SPOT POND WATER WORKS. 293 

and the payment of the assessment by the Commonwealth, 
from the total receipts from water-rates, the surplus is credited 
to this fund. The amount of this Sinking Fund, January 31, 
1902, was $33,762.12, which deducted leaves the net water debt 
$203,237.38. 

Besides this, the City is to receive a large sum, hereafter to 
be determined, from the Commonwealth, on account of the 
absorption of the entire system of Spot Pond Water Works — 
outside of our own local system of supply for the City proper 
— into the Metropolitan Water System; which amount will be 
applied, when received, to our bonded water debt; thus making 
a material reduction of the same. 

In 1878, the following gentlemen were elected Commis- 
sioners of Water Loan Sinking Fund, and they have served, 
by election by the Town, and appointment by the City, from 
that date to the present: Daniel Russell, John W. Farwell and 
Royal P. Barry; and Town Treasurer, George Newhall, acted 
as Treasurer of the Fund until the Town became a City, when 
he was succeeded by Treasurer John Larrabee, for 1900, and 
he, January i, 1901, by his successor, William R. Lavender, 
Treasurer. 

After Spot Pond had been taken for the purpose of supply- 
ing Maiden, Medford and Melrose with water, various suits 
were brought against these three municipalities by different 
individuals and corporations, for water rights, and for divert- 
ing the overflow of water from its usual channel, thus interfer- 
ing with certain manufacturing purposes. Some of these suits 
were settled during the year 1875, others later. Those of 
Simon H. Barrett et als, and George William Phillips, adminis- 
trator for the estate of David Dyer, were tried before a sheriff's 
jury, resulting in an award of $11,500 and interest, to the 
Barretts, and $50,397.78, interest included, to the Dyer estate. 
When settled the total cost to Maiden, Medford and Melrose, 
was $69,313.73, one-third of which, $23,104.38, was paid by 

the rising sun and still fresh as his picturesque basin held fast by that 

beams gild our western sky ; not Omnipotence whose might secures 

in a reservoir constructed by the the everlasting hills, and by whose 

imperfect hand of man, which fiat the waters of the great deep 

might burst its artificial bounds are gathered together! Distant, 

and hurrying with terrifying sur- long distant, be the day when we 

prise through hamlet and town shall be unmindful of this inestim- 

spread desolation and death on able blessing." MSS. 
every hand, but in a lovely, and 



294 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



each. The claim of Anne C. Copeland was settled by Maiden 
and Melrose, each paying S875, a total of Si, 750. That of 
James P. Thorndike, for the Hurd and Grundy Mills, $1,825, 
which, with costs, amounted to ^700 for each, Maiden, Med- 
ford and Melrose. That of the Haywardville Rubber Com- 
pany, amounted to $14,479.92 and costs; each paying one-third. 
The last lawsuit of this character was settled in 1877; being 
that of Philander Ames, who claimed damages for flowage of 
land at the head of the Pond. No damages were awarded. 
The verdict was in favor of the defendants, the three M's. 

The total cost to Melrose for its part in taking Spot Pond, 
the water rights and land adjacent thereto, has been as follows: 

Cost of franchise in 1871, (one-third) . $133-33 



Land damage paid in 1872, 
Land damage paid in 1873, 
Land damage paid in 1874, 
Land damage paid in 1875, 
Land damage paid in 1876, 
Land damage paid in 1877, 



200.00 
1,800.00 

23.979-58 

6,550.00 

700.00 

850.00 



Total, . $34,212.91 

During the first year in the history of the Water Works, 
Jeremiah Martin, one of the Commissioners served as Superin- 
tendent; after which Addison Lane was appointed to that 
position. In 1879, he was also made Water Registrar, and 
continued to hold both positions until 1888, when Parker Mer- 
rill was elected in his place, and James W. Riley was made 
Superintendent of construction. The next year Mr. Riley was 
elected Superintendent of Water Works, a position he held 
under the City P^ngineer and Superintendent of Public Works, 
until his death, December 14, 1901, and Parker Merrill, Water 
Registrar. In 1890, P^lbridge H. Goss was elected Water 
Registrar, who served until 1895, when he resigned and Levi 
S. Gould was appointed. He served two years, when having 
been elected one of the Commissioners for Middlesex County, 
he resigned and Stephen A. Lovejoy was appointed to the posi- 
tion which he held until Melrose became a city, January i, 1900. 

At the Town Meeting March 27, 1871, the number of Water 
Commissioners was reduced from five to three, and Wingate P. 
Sargent, W. Irving Ellis, and Joseph D. Wilde were elected; 
Mr. Sargent, chairman. In 1875, Mr. Sargent resigned, and 



SPOT POND WATER WORKS. 295 

Joseph R. Simonds was elected in his place; Mr. Wilde, Chair- 
man. Capt. Simonds died in 1882, and Wilbur D. Fiske was 
elected, to fill the vacancy. Mr. Wilde resi<:,med in 1883, when 
Mr. Sargent was ag-ain elected and made Chairman. Major 
Ellis resigned in 1885, and John R. Jones was elected in his 
place. On the death of Mr. Jones in 1888, George L. Morse was 
elected. Mr. Sargent resigned in 1889, and William H. Miller 
was elected to fill the vacancy, and Maj. Fiske was made Chair- 
man. In 1891, George J. Bicknell was elected. In 1893, Mr. 
Miller resigned, and Mr. Morse was again elected, and Mr. 
Bicknell made Chairman. In 1895, Maj. Fiske declined a re- 
election and Curtis C. Goss was elected in his place. In 1896, 
Mr. Bicknell removed to Boston, and Frank W. Hunt was 
elected, and the Board consisted of George L. Morse, Curtis 

C. Goss and Frank W. Hunt, George L. Morse, Chairman, until 
January i, 1900, when the city was incorporated. 

As there existed complaints from occupants of the higher 
lands of the town, concerning their supply of water, at a Town 
Meeting held April 14, 1885, ^ committee consisting of Joseph 

D. Wilde, John W. Farwell, Royal P. Barry, John B. Souther 
and Nathan D. Blake, was appointed to confer with the Water 
Commissioners, and consider the " best method or system by 
which a full and ample supply of water can be furnished to the 
inhabitants." 

A report was made by the Commissioners which resulted in 
the appointment of another committee consisting of Wingate 
P. Sargent, Wilbur D. Fiske, John R. Jones, John W. Farwell, 
Nathan D. Blake, John B. Souther, Artemas Barrett, Alonzo V. 
Lynde and William F. Sherman, "to make full and thorough 
investigation and report to the town the best system or method 
for supplying the town with high water service, and the cost 
of the same." That committee reported, and the result was 
that at a Town Meeting held Juni- 2, 1885, it was x'otcd: 

That Wingate P. Sargent, Wilbur D. Plske, John R. Jones, Nathan 
D. Blake and William F. Sherman be a committee with full power and 
authority to contract for and cause to be made a suitable reservoir, 
and such other enlargements, extensions and improvements of our 
present water service as will give to the inhabitants of the town a full 
supply of water, provided the same can be clone at an expense not 
exceeding $37,000. 

This committee built a reservoir on the highest point of land 



296 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

on the east side of Spot Pond, into which the water was 
pumped by the Pumping Station on the border of the Pond, 
and made all other necessary arrangements for a complete 
" High Service" system, which was finished and put into opera- 
tion in 1886. From this time Melrose suffered not for lack of 
water until the dry season of 1894, when it was found neces- 
sary, on account of the lowness of the water in Spot Pond, to 
take steps for procuring an additional supply of water. Ex- 
periments were made by sinking artesian wells on the north- 
erly side of Ell Pond, and other sources were examined and 
considered, but not availed of. The Middlesex Fells Springs 
Company having established a plant for furnishing" pure water 
from wells sunk on the northerly side of Wyoming Avenue, 
and west of Whittier Street, near the Ravine Road, a contract 
was made between that Company and the Water Commission- 
ers in behalf of Melrose to furnish a certain number of gallons 
of water per day, by pumping into our system of pipes. This 
arrangement continued for nearly two years, from May 21, 
i8q4 to May i, i8g6, the Company having furnished the Town 
275,245,473 gallons of water at a cost to the Town of $18,500.60. 
At that time. May i, Spot Pond again furnished all the neces- 
sary supply of water; and now that the great Metropolitan 
Water System has absorbed all the existing water works with- 
in the radius of ten miles — the " Greater Boston" — no further 
lack of water need be anticipated for generations to come. 
Spot Pond has been taken into the system as an auxiliary 
reservoir to supply the northern high-service district; and is 
to be kept constantly full by pumping from the Chestnut Hill 
Reservoir. The elevation of the surface of the water on Janu- 
ary I, 1901, when only 3.53 feet below the high water mark, 
was 159.47 feet above Boston city base; and it then con- 
tained 1,450,000,000 gallons; the capacity of the full pond is 
1,791,000,000 gallons. Its capacity under the old system was 
758,000,000 gallons. 

As an additional supph', a new reservoir has been built in 
the higher part of the Fells, a short distance to the south of 
the high service reservoir which formerly supplied Melrose. 
This is for the supply of Maiden, Melrose, Everett and Chelsea. 
It has an altitude of 271 feet above the sea level, 137 feet above 
that of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and 108 feet above Spot 
Pond. It has an area of 8.52 acres, and a capacity of 41,400,000 



SPOT POND WATER WORKS. 



297 



gallons. It has cost $134,776.32. To supply this reservoir 
from Spot Pond, a very handsome pumping station has been 
erected on what was formerly the charming estate of Charles 
Copeland, on the shore of the Pond, at a cost, including a 
Leavitt engine with pumping capacity of 10,000,000 gallons 
daily, and a Holly engine with a capacity of 20,000,000 gallons 
daily, of $227,196.71.* 

Under the provisions of the act of 1895, creating the Metro- 
politan Water Board and District, the following assessments 
have been paid by Melrose: 1898, $3,332.04; 1899, $4,921.63; 
1900, $6,740.49; 1901, $12,546.32. 

In 1890, cooperative action was taken by the three munici- 
palities, Maiden, Medford and Melrose, with the view of pro- 
tecting the waters of Spot Pond from pollution; and at a 
Special Town Meeting held July 7, 1891, the Town voted to 
join with Maiden and Medford in buying all the lands on the 
immediate border of the Pond, and appropriated $20,000 for 
its third of the total cost of $60,000. Had these cities and this 
town foreseen that within a very few years this whole question 
of water supply would have been absorbed by the action of the 
State, and placed under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan 
Water Board, this united action of the three municipalities 
need never have taken place, and this outlay of money might 
have been saved. 



* Spot Poud was taken into this 
new and extensive system January 
I, 1898, under the authority of " An 
Act to Provide for a Metropolitan 
\Vater Supply, " passed by the 
Legislature and approved June 5, 
1895. The district of "Greater 
Boston" embraced the cities of 
Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Maiden, 
Newton, vSomerville and Medford, 
and the towns of Belmont, Hyde 
Park, Melrose, Revere, Watertown 
and Winthrop. Since its passage 
additional legislation has added the 
•city of Quincy and the towns of 
Arlington, Nahant and Stoueham 
to the district. 

The total cost of this great and 
beneficent system thus far has been 
^40,000,000; and the cost to each 



municipality each year is now a 


follows: 




Boston, 


11,266,809 


Everett, . 


23.549 


Medford, . 


19.793 


Newton, . 


7,400 


Somerville, 


61,571 


Belmont, . 


4,622 


Nahant, . 


2,794 


Stonehani, 


6,139 


Winthrop, 


6,738 


Chelsea, . 


32,045 


Maiden, . 


33.104 


Melrose, . 


13.596 


Quincy, 


23.845 


Arlington, 


9.124 


Hyde Park, 


2,159 


Revere, 


10,892 


Watertown, 


10,620 



298 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

At a Town Meeting held December g, 1897, this preliminary 
action was taken on account of the contemplated absorption 
of the Spot Pond Water Works into the great Metropolitan 
Water System: 

Voted, That the water board, whenever the metropolitan water 
board shall have taken the waters of the south branch of the Nashua 
River, and the property of the city of Boston, situated westerly of the 
intersections of the main pipes to be laid from Chestnut Hill reservoir 
to Spot pond, with the main pipes which convey water from the Mystic 
distributing reservoir; also the pumping station at Chestnut Hill reser- 
voir, and lands under and surrounding the same, and the pipes and 
aqueducts leading thereto; also Spot pond, so called, in or near the 
town of Stoneham, and the lands under and surrounding the same, 
now owned by the cities of Maiden and Medford and the Town of 
Melrose, or either of them, held for the purpose of water supply, or of 
protecting or preserving the purity of the water, and the pumping sta- 
tions and pumps thereon as provided in Act of 1895, Chap. 488, Sec. 
4, shall file with said board, the application of the town for furnishing 
water thereto, as provided in Section 3, of said Chap. 488 of the 
Acts of 1895. 

After the Spot Pond Water Works had been absorbed by 
the Metropolitan Water System, the following action was taken 
at a Town Meeting held March 14, 1898: 

Voted, That the water commissioners and the following named five 
citizens of Melrose : A. V. Lynde, Royal P. Barry, B. Marvin Fernald, 
John W. Farwell and George R. Jones, be a committee to represent 
the town in all matters pertaining to the taking of its water supply by 
the commonwealth, any portion thereof, or interest therein ; the said 
committee have full power and authority to negotiate for a settlement, 
and adjust all claims of said town against the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts with the metropolitan board of water commissioners, to 
agree upon a price for the same. Said committee shall not bind the 
town by any final adjudication as to the value of any of its rights so 
taken, vmtil the same has been reported back to the town, and duly 
approved by it, but may accept partial payment on account of said 
damages, then to cause proper petition or action therein to be brought 
to recover damages for taking of said property. 

The same committee remained in force through the year 
1899; s"*^! when the City Government was inaugurated, a 
Special Committee on Settlement with the Metropolitan Water 
Board was appointed, consisting of Aldermen JJowes, Moore,. 



SPOT POND WATER WORKS. 299 

Carrie, Shepard and Goss. The same Committee was ap- 
pointed for the year 1901, with one change; Elbridge H. Goss 
took the place of Curtis C. Goss. Later, April 6, Alderman 
Charles N. Shute was added to this Committee. 

As the proper time had not arrived, no action was taken by 
the Committee appointed by the Town, March 14, 1898, neither 
by the Special Aldermanic Committee of 1900; but, during the 
year 1901, His Honor. John Larrabee, Mayor, City Solicitor 
Frank L. Washburn, and the Aldermanic Committee, and the 
representatives of the cities of Maiden and Medford, equally 
interested with Melrose, met the Metropolitan Water and 
Sewerage Board,^ acting for the Commonwealth, with the view 
of obtaining terms which should be satisfactory to all three 
municipalities. 

After that the Mayor and City Solicitor were authorized on 
behalf of Melrose, to continue these negotiations, the result of 
which was communicated to the Board of Aldermen at its 
meeting October 7, 1901, by the following correspondence: 

City of Melrose, 
Mayor's Office, October 7, 1901. 
To the Honorable, the Boai'd of Aldermen, Alelrose, Mass. 

Gentlemen: — I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of 
letter received from the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board, in 
which a direct offer is made by the Board to the City of Melrose 
in full for its claims against the Commonwealth by reason of the tak- 
ing of Spot Pond and lands under and surrounding the same, and for 
the pumping station, pumps, etc., said offer amounting, with interest 
allowed, to nearly $93,000.00. I have met on several occasions repre- 
sentatives of the cities of Maiden and Medford in conference, and at 
hearings before the Metropolitan Board ; so far as I am able to learn 
the cities mentioned, who have a joint interest with us, are not 
prepared to settle on the terms proposed. 

1 therefore suggest that the matter be referred to the Special 
Committee already appointed by your Board, with such authority in 
the premises as in your judgment may deem best. 

1-lespectfully yours, 

John Larrahee, Mayor. 

* The Metropolitan Water Board consolidated in one Board by act of 
and Metropolitan vSewer Board were Legislatnre, March 20, 1901. 



500 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board. 

I Ashburton Place. 

Boston, August 9, 1901. 
Jlon. John Larrabee^ Mayor of Melrose. 

My Dear Sir: — -The Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board 
Tiave taken into consideration the claims of the City of Melrose by 
reason of the taking of Spot Pond and the lands under and surround- 
ing the same, owned by the cities of Maiden, Medford and Melrose, or 
either of them, held for the purpose of water supply, or of protecting 
or preserving the purity of the water, and the pumping stations and 
pumps thereon, as required by the Metropolitan Water Act of 1895. 

The Board will pay to the City of Melrose in full for its claims, in- 
cluding its share under the joint claims of the three cities, the sum of 
$89,669.54, with interest at the rate of three and one-half per cent, per 
annum from November i, 1900. 

This includes the tools and supplies on the premises when taken by 
the Board, the value of which is estimated at $600. This sum so far 
as we have been able to determine from the exhibits furnished by you, 
is the amount paid by the City of Melrose on account of the works 
and property taken by the Board. 

The settlement with the City of Boston for like claims was made 
upon the basis above proposed. The Board does not feel that it 
should pay for property not taken, although such property was used 
by the city as a portion of its water works. The city of Boston was 
not paid for similar works, nor indeed was it paid for the Mystic 
works which were taken. Water works belonging to several other 
municipalities in the District have been found useless by them since 
the introduction of the Metropolitan Supply, and have been necessa- 
rily abandoned, but in no instance have such works been paid for by 
the Metropolitan Water Board. 

The Board trusts that this offer will be acceptable to the City of 
Melrose, and that a speedy settlement may be made with the city upon 
this basis. Yours very truly, 

Henry H. Sprague, Chairman. 

The offer for settlement made by the Metropolitan Water 
Board has not yet been accepted. In conjunction with the 
other interested cities, Maiden and Medford, further negotia- 
tions are in progress. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
SEWERAGE. 

THE act establishing- the Metropolitan Sewerage System- 
was passed by the Massachusetts Legislature, June 7,. 
1889. It was entitled " An Act to provide for the 
Building, Maintenance and Operation of a System of Sewage 
Disposal for the Mystic and Charles River Valleys." Section 
3, in part, authorized the construction of a Main Sewer, under 
the direction of the Metropolitan Sewer Commissioners, for 
the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Maiden, Chelsea, 
Woburn, Medford, Everett, and the towns of Stoneham, Mel- 
rose, Winchester, Arlington, Belmont and Winthrop, in ac- 
cordance with the plans reported and recommended by the 
State Board of Health, in its report to the Legislature in 1889. 

Under this act the State, by its Sewer Commissioners, at 
once began to build these works; and in due time the initia- 
tory steps were taken to enable Melrose to participate in this 
great public benefit. 

At a Town Meeting held April 25, 1892, it was voted that a 
committee consisting of the Selectmen, Levi S. Gould, John P. 
Deering and Charles W. Higgins, together with George L. 
Morse, John Robson, Charles W. Cook and Francis S. Hessel- 
tine, be appointed 

to consider the whole question of sewerage for this town, the work to 
be done, the cost, system or plan to be adopted, how the expense of 
same shall be borne, whether betterments shall be assessed upon 
estates or not, and that they be requested to report with recommenda- 
tions at the next town meeting. 

On the 22d of October following, the Town \otc(l: 

That the treasurer be authorized to borrow a sum not exceeding 
$1500, to be expended under the direction of the committee on sewer- 
age for the purpose of obtaining plans, specifications, etc., for a sewer- 
age system for this town. 



302 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

This committee made its report January 4, 1894, in print; in 
a pamphlet of 47 pages, containing not only their own report, 
but that of the engineer, Walter C. Stevens, who had been 
employed by the committee to make 

a map of the entire sewerage system, comprising all streets, both pub- 
lic and private, to date ; a set of profile plans in detail ; specifications, 
estimates, etc.; all of which your committee believe to be thorough 
and complete, and in strict accordance with your instructions. 

The engineer in making his estimates, divided the Town into 
nine sections, giving the pipe lines in detail and the estimated 
cost of construction of the sewers by section; and the commit- 
tee's recommendation was that the Town 

should only authorize such sections to be built from year to year as 
may be considered absolutely necessary for the health and comfort of 
our citizens, otherwise a financial burden might be created which it 
would be unpleasant to contemplate. 

Under the general plan thus recommended by the committee 
the work was duly begun. May 14, 1894, was continued, under 
the jurisdiction of the three Sewer Commissioners, which were 
chosen at the Annual Meeting, held March 5, 1894, in accord- 
ance with Chap. 417, Acts of 1893, relating to the election of 
Sewer Commissioners, and which had been accepted at the 
Town Meeting held January 4, 1894, until January i, 1900, 
when Melrose became a city, and Sewer Commissioners were 
no longer elected. These Commissioners were: Seth E. Ben- 
son, elected for three years, L. Frank Hinckley, for two years, 
and John Larrabee, for one year. 

During the first year sewer bonds were issued to the extent 
of $100,000, by authority of the Legislature, Chap. 323, Acts of 
1894. 

In 1895, John Larrabee was re-elected for three years, and 
the Sewer Department was organized as follows: Seth E. 
Benson, Chairman; L. Frank Hinckley and John Larrabee, 
Commissioners; Walter C. Stevens, Engineer; W. Dabney 
Hunter, Superintendent of Construction. Mr. Hunter acted 
as an Inspector during the first year. 

During this year the Legislature authorized an additional 
issue of sewer bonds to the extent of $100,000. 

The sections thus far completed were connected with the 
main sewer of the North Metropolitan Sewerage System, June 



SEWERAGE. 308 

I, 1895, ^"d from that time house connections were made as 
rapidly as applied for, as they have been with the sections 
since completed year by year. In 1896, L. Frank Hinckley 
was re-elected for three years. W. Dabney Hunter was made 
Chief Engineer and Superintendent, and Clarence T. Fernald, 
First Assistant Engineer. 

Those portions of the Town of Wakefield known as Green- 
wood and Boyntonville, having petitioned to be admitted to 
the Metropolitan Sewerage system, hearings were held which 
resulted in an act passed by the Legislature, under the provis- 
ions of which the State purchased of the Town of Melrose, the 
trunk sewer which connects with the State sewer in Wyoming 
Avenue, running thence through Berwick, Grove, Myrtle, Essex 
and Tremont Streets to a point near Lake Avenue, paying 
therefor the actual cost to the Town, and built the remainder 
of the line through Tremont, Melrose, Belmont, Franklin and 
Greenwood Streets to the Wakefield line; thus these sections 
of the Town of Wakefield have been accommodated, and are 
receiving the same benefits as if they had originally belonged 
to the Metropolitan district. 

In 1897, Seth E. Benson was re-elected fo^ three years, and 
the organization of the Board of Sewer Commissioners re- 
mained the same. Messrs. Hinckley and Larrabee, by re-elec- 
tion as their terms expired, served through 1898 and 1899, 
until Melrose became a city. 

During this year, 1897, the Legislature authorized an addi- 
tional issue of $100,000 sewer bonds. The total issue of bonds 
on account of sewer construction has been $350,000, as follows: 
$100,000 dated 1894, payable in thirty years; $100,000 dated 
1895, payable in thirty years; $50,000 dated 1896, payable in 
thirty years; $100,000 dated 1897, $25,000 of which is payable 
in ten years, $25,000 in fifteen years, and $50,000 in twent}- 
}ears; all bearing interest at the rate of four per cent, per 
annum. 



304 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

vSEU'ERS BUILT TO FEBRUARY 1, 1902. 



SIZE. 






lyENGTH IN FEET. 








Inches. 


1894. 


1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


1808. 


1899. 


1900. 


Totals. 


6 

8 

10 

12. ... 


14,004.16 
5,489.89 
1,508.02 
949.95 
354.80 
2,715.0" 
2,788.80 
1 213 10 


20,41 1.06 
8,020.03 
4,968.55 
1,250.69 


26,179.93 

15,505.79 

2,152.38 

2,407.62 


22,916.40 

11,817.90 

2,946.60 

5,672.64 

3 121 73 


2,512.00 
1,424.00 


4,662.40 
1,530.10 
1,067.00 


839.00 
2,429.00 
2,796.00 


91,525.55 
46,166,71 
15,488.55 
10,280.90 
3 476.53 


If,. 








18 




317 66 


9 117 10 








5,149.83 
2 788.30 


20 












24 








1,213.10 


BRICK. 
20 X 18- 






8,034.94 

1 . . 




3,034.94 

ni.oo 


9() 


111.00 
28.00 


... 1 


24 










28.00 














Totals . 


29,112.29 


34,650.93 


46,563.38 56,627.31 3,936.00 


7,259.50 


6,064.00 


*179,213.41 



* Total length of sewers, 179,213.41 feet, or 33.94 miles, 2.4 miles of which are 
owned and controlled by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but by an act of 
the Legislature Melrose is permitted to use in the same manner as local sewers. 

At a Town Meetinj;^- held March 21, 1895, '^ was voted: 

That when this meeting adjourns it shall be to Monday evening, 
April 8, 1895; that a committee of five be appointed to act in con- 
jimction with the Sewer Commissioners in the consideration of plans 
for the assessment and apportionment of the estimated cost of the 
sewer and report at said adjourned meeting. 

This committee consisted of Levi S. Gould, Moses S. Page, 
Royal P. Barry, George L. Morse and George J. Bicknell. 
This committee reported June 10, 1895, ^ system of assessment, 
and apportionment which was adopted by the Town; but as 
this action was based on a partial knowledge of the cost of the 
whole system, it was deemed best not to act in the matter until 
the building of the sewers should be more nearly completed; 
consequently no further action was taken until the Town Meet- 
ing which was held April 7, 1896, when the following vote was 
passed: 

That a committee of five citizens be appointed to act in conjunction 
with the Sewer Commissioners [Seth E. Ben.son, L. Frank Hinckley 
and John Larrabee] to take into consideration matters in connection 
with the levying of sewer assessments, and that the Commissioners be 
instructed to defer the levying of assessments until further action of 
the Town. 



SEWERAGE. 305 

The following were appointed by the Moderator: Royal 
P. Barry, Eugene H. Moore, George L. Morse, Moses S. Page, 
William N. Folsom, George R. Jones and William A. Burrell. 

As this was a very important matter, it was considered b\' 
this committee very carefully, and, after mature deliberation, 
its report was made at the Town Meeting held March 21, 
1898, and was accepted. At an adjourned meeting, held 
March 28, this report was debated, amended and adopted as 
follows: 

That one-half of the estimated cost of all the Sewers shall be paid 
by the Town. One-half of the said estimated cost shall be assessed 
upon the estates directly benefited, wherever the sewer shall be laid, 
by the frontage and area plan combined, viz : Twenty cents to be 
assessed on each foot of lot frontage of estates or any street or way 
wherever a sewer is constructed. Five (5) mills per square foot upon 
the area of said estates extending back to a depth of one hundred (100) 
feet from the front of same. Upon all corner lots, assessment for lot 
frontage shall be levied as before stated, upon the whole frontage of 
such estate which abuts on the street where a sewer is first constructed, 
and when a sewer is constructed on the other street or streets, or ways 
upon which such corner lots or estates abut, an exemption, as may be 
determined by the Sewer Commissioners, of not exceeding Fifty (50) 
feet of the frontage assessment shall be made on such streets or ways, 
and the assessments, as before provided, shall be levied on all the rest 
of the frontage on such streets or ways. Upon such estates as shall 
receive a direct benefit from the sewer, and have no assessable lot 
frontage, and are not located within one hundred (roo) feet of a street 
or way, such an amount of the area of said estate shall be assessed as 
may be deemed just and reasonable by the Board of Sewer Commis- 
sioners, for the benefit received. 

By the action of the Sewer Commissioners, under the author- 
ity of the State Law, the payment of the sewer assessments 
has been so arranged as to bear as lightly as possible upon 
tax-payers. It was left optional with each citizen, to make 
the whole amount assessed in one payment, or, apportioned 
into ten equal parts, one part payable aiinuallN', the parts re- 
maining unpaid {o flraw interest at the rate of five per cent, 
per annum. ^ 

1 Further facts concerning the found in tlie reports of the Boanl 
cost of our Sewerage system, to- of Sewer Conitnissiouers, Messrs. 
gether with other details, may be Benson, Hinckley and Larrabee, 



806 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Our excellent system of sewers was constructed at a cost of about 
$360,000. The additions of portions of Wakefield and Stoneham to 
the Metropolitan System gave to Melrose the opportunity to dispose 
of the hne running through Myrtle, Essex and Tremont Streets to the 
State, the right being reserved to connect house or lateral sewers. 
Since that time a line has been constructed from Tremont street to 
Stoneham, and there is in process of construction a line from Wake- 
field, in all of which important privileges are given to Melrose, which 
will result in a saving in the cost of our local system, estimated at 
$40,000 to $45,000.- 

The system at present comprises 33.94 miles of constructed 
sewers. On the streets through which these are situated there 
are about 2,500 buildings, 2,028 of which have been connected 
with the sewer. Owners of property have very generally 
made the request for these connections, showing that the 
public estimates the system as an economic and healthful 
measure. 

The act of the Legislature authorizing Melrose to build its 
sewer system, required a sinking fund to be established, for 
the payment of the bonds as they mature. This was done, 
and the various sums that have been added to this fund 
amounted to $88,286.62, on January 31, 1902, which deducted 
from bonded debt of $350,000 leaves present sewerage debt 
$261,713.38. On July 9, 1901, the Board of Aldermen, made 
an additional appropriation of $15,000, for the extension of the 
sewer system throughout the settled portion of the north- 
eastern section of the City; also to enter it on Henry Avenue 
at the Highlands, and Corey Place at Wyoming. 

The commissioners appointed by a decree of the Supreme 
Court . of Massachusetts, to determine and apportion the 
amount to be paid annually for the next five years, beginning 
with 1901, by the cities and towns in this Metropolitan Sewer- 
age System, to meet interest and sinking fund requirements, 
and also to pay cost of maintenance and operation, in their re- 
port gave the proportion for Melrose as $7,355-74 and $2,372.50 
respectively; a total of $9,728.24. The amount paid by Mel- 
rose for 1900, was $9,431.01; for 1901, $9,727.23; for 1902, 
$10,561.13. 



and Chief Engineer and Superin- Engineer and Superintendent of 

tendent, W. Dabney Hunter, in Public Works for 1900 and 1901. 

their reports of 1899. Additional -z proui the Inaugural Address of 

matter is given in the report of the Mayor Larrabee, January 7th, 1901. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
DRAINAGE AND HEALTH. 

FOR many years previous to 1870, the growth of Melrose 
was impeded by the fact that much of the land in the 
valley at the southern part of the town was constantly 
overflowed by a large body of water, caused by the existence 
of what came to be known as the " Dyer Dam." This dam 
was situated in Maiden, on the main stream formed by the 
united waters of Spot Pond, Ell Pond and Shilly Shally 
Brooks, near where the present Mountain Avenue crosses it.^ 
Before the taking of Spot Pond by the three towns. Maiden, 
Medford and Melrose for their water supply, in 1870, there 
was a large overflow of water, supplying Spot Pond Brook 
continuously; and in the earlier days Shilly Shally Brook, 
the feeder of the Cascade on Washington Street, also had a 
continuous supply; of late years the sources of this brook fail 
during a portion of the seasons. 

An attempt was made as early as 1857, to have this overflow 
of water remedied; when, at a Town Meeting held March 2, 
the following action was taken: 

On motion of L. H. M. Cochran, Resolved: That it is wise and ex- 
pedient for the Town to take active measures for draining off the sur- 
plus water which now submerges so large a portion of the territory of 
the Town, to the great injury of the health, character and prosperity 
of its citizens, by widening and deepening the ditches from the High- 
lands and the outlets of Ell Pond to the southern extremity of the 
Town line; and in such other manner as the Committee may deem 
advisable and to prevent the damming up of the water by the Flouring 
Mills, late the Odiorne Mills, in the Town of Maiden, beyond the 
legal rights of the Proprietors of said Mills ; and that a committee of 

1 Time was, before hal)itatioii and Streams have met and "pledged 
industrial pursuits had interfered eternal friendship and passed on 
with the purity of the water, when united, singing, looking up blue- 
it might have been said : these eyed toward heaven." 



308 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

no less than three nor more than five competent citizens of Melrose be 
chosen to carry into effect the wishes of the Town as herein expressed, 
with all reasonable prudence and dispatch, and at the expense of said 
Town ; and for this purpose it is voted that the sum of $i ,500 be raised 
and appropriated and paid by the Treasurer of the Town on the draft 
of said Committee, at such times as the money may be needed. 
Voted, that German S. Phippen, Samuel O. Dearborn and Caleb 
Howard be a Committee to attend to the duties of the above Resolve, 
and motion, and they are instructed to attend to that duty as soon as 
practicable. 

February 18, 1858, a vote was passed authorizing the appoint- 
ment of an agent to procure legal counsel to act with this 
committee in this matter of drainage, in defending the Town 
and its citizens in any action that might grow out of this 
attempt to remove this nuisance. Nelson Cochran was elected 
to act in this position. Meanwhile various changes had taken 
place in the Committee; Messrs. Dearborn and Howard had 
resigned, and Edmund B. Southwick and William J. Farnsworth 
were elected in their places; Mr. Farnsworth resigned and 
Joseph Holbrook was substituted. And this, so far as the 
Town records show, was all that was done towards remedying 
the evil. 

Year after year went by, and still the many acres of land 
forming the southern end of the Melrose valley, were sub- 
merged with Ell, Spot Pond and Shilly Shally Brook waters. 
But in 1869, a determined effort was initiated for the removal 
of this great and long existing evil — this standing menace to 
the health of our citizens; the power of the State was invoked. 

A petition was circulated and presented to the General 
Court, by Levi S. Gould, who was the Representative of this 
District at that time, which resulted in the passage of " An 
Act relating to drainage in the towns of Maiden and Melrose," 
which was approved June 11, 1869, the first section of which 
was as follows: 

The county commissioners of the county of Middlesex are hereby 
authorized and directed to take and lay out such land, water-courses 
and water-rights, dams and other real estate, or interests, or easements, 
or rights therein, or on the adjoining streams or brooks running from 
Ell Pond in Melrose and Spot Pond in Stoneham, to the tide-water in 
Maiden, as they shall deem necessary for the puq:)Oses of proper 
drainage and the public health; and they are also authorized, for the 
same purposes, to control the damming up and letting off the waters 



DRAINAGE AND HEALTH. 309 

of said ponds. And they may change, widen, straighten and deepen 
the channels of said brooks and streams, and remove all dams and 
other obstructions therefrom, and use and appropriate said brooks or 
streams, in such manner as they shall deem necessary for the purposes 
aforesaid. 

The rest of the act refers to betterments, assessments, war- 
rants of distress and suits for damages; and the whole was 
made subject to acceptance by vote of the towns of Maiden 
-and Melrose. 

An act in addition thereto was passed by the Legislature, 
May 9, 1870. At a Town Meeting held November 8, 1870, 
the Town voted that the Water Commissioners, Wingate P. 
Sargent, Jeremiah Martin, Dexter Bryant, Joel Snow and 
Elbridge Green, be a committee to act in this matter, and in 
connection with any committee that Maiden might appoint, 
apply to the County Commissioners, and ask them to take 
action in conformity to the Acts of the Legislature. 

The County Commissioners at once held several hearings; 
and on the 28th of March, 1871, they ordered the dam removed^ 
forthwith, deeming it "necessary for the purposes of proper 
drainage and the public health; " ordering also that the streams 
and brooks " should be located, and their courses and widths 
described;" appointing as agents for this service Albert T. 
Sargent, of Maiden, and Jeremiah Martin, of Melrose. All 
this work was done in due time; the dam was taken down 
March 31, 1871; the necessary surveys were made, and bound- 
aries fixed. 

This dam at Rlack Rock, on Mountain Avenue, Maiden, 
caused the water to flow back as far as the present Wyoming 
Station; and m winter, such was the wet and marshy formation 
then existing up along where now runs the Boston & Maine 
railroad, that skaters — among them Levi S. Gould — have 
skated from the dam to the Highlands. 

A petition to the County Commissioners, claiming damages 
on account of taking down this dam, was made by Mr. Dyer, 
February 20, 1872, but no damages were awarded. Another, 
asking for a jury to determine the matter of his complaint, was 
presented to the Board March 26, 1872; and, before any action 
was taken thereon, Mr. Dyer died. In May, 1875, George 
William Phillips, administrator of the Dyer estate, petitioned 
the Commissioners, "desiring to revive and prosecute said last 



310 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

named petition of his intestate," also asking for a jury. A 
copy of this petition was sent to our Selectmen, Walter Babb, 
Henry G. Fields and George A. Mansfield, and they appeared 
at the hearing. Arguments were made, pro and con, and the 
petition dismissed. Still the matter was unsettled and several 
long and protracted hearings were held in the September 
following. The aim was "to show that no damages should be 
awarded to the Dyer heirs, as they had been fully compensated 
by the payment of a large sum for the Spot Pond water, [see 
' Spot Pond Water Works'] and without this privilege their 
dam was worthless;" and the Commissioners sustained this 
view of the 'matter, and awarded no damages. It was also 
contended that the improved land which the drainage had left 
was worth more to them than before its removal. 

The " Report and Award of the County Commissioners," 
was made December 21, 1875. The costs as determined by 
them in this matter, were for Maiden $3,165.05, and for Melrose 
^^4,105. 55 

Still Mr. Phillips, in behalf of the Dyer estate, pursued this 
case by taking it to the Supreme Court, in 1876, and it was 
again decided for the defendants; and in October, 1877, the 
case was again tried before a sheriff's jury, at the Court House, 
in East Cambridge, lasting five days, resulting in a disagree- 
ment of the jury. A second trial followed in December, be- 
fore a new jury, when it was again, and finally, decided for the 
defendants. Thus was the long drawn out case ended; and in 
the Annual Report for 1877-78, the Selectmen were enabled 
to say: 

This case which has been before the Courts, the County Commis- 
sioners and town meetings for so many years, has at last, let us hope, 
reached a final conclusion, the justice of which is apparent to every- 
body at all conversant with the facts. 

In later years, encroachments having been made by the 
building of another dam, a short distance below the old one, 
by wrongly built culverts, and numerous other obstructions, 
an appeal was again made in 1890, to the County Commission- 
ers for authority to remove all such, arrd to maintain the 
channels in proper condition. March 3, 1890, the Town ap- 
pointed a committee consisting of George T. Brown, John B. 
Souther, Norman F. Hesseltine, Seth E. Benson and Walter C. 



DRAINAGE AND HEALTH. 311 

Stex'ens, the Selectmen ro cooperate, to iiu'estigate the matter 
and report what in their judgment is for the best interests of 
the town to do. 

At a Town Meeting held June 3, 1890, it was voted to send 
a petition which had been prepared as follows: 

Melrose, May 26th, i.Sqo. 
7o tlic Hon. Coiiiitx Coi/i/n/ss/o/icrs of the' County of Middlesex. 

Gentlemen : — The undersigned, representing a committee ap- 
pointed by the inhabitants of the town of Melrose, in town meeting 
assembled, respectfully petition your honorable board to cause to be 
carried out in its entirety, the order of said board relating to Spot 
and Ell Pond brooks in the towns of Melrose and Maiden, said order 
having been made under the Acts of 1869, relating to "Drainage in 
the towns of Maiden and Melrose." 
Levi S. Gould, 

Chairman Selectmen of Melrose. 
Geor(;e T. Brown, 

Chairman of Committee on Removal of 
-' Obstructions in Ell and Spot Pond Brooks. 

Several hearings were had before the County Commissioners, 
resulting in a decision by them, that their powers under the 
act of 1869 were exhausted upon the issuance of their decree 
in 1875; and that they were powerless to aid the Town without 
further legislation; but, in their judgment, the Tovvn had 
jurisdiction within its own borders, to straighten, widen and 
deepen the brooks in Melrose, in such a manner as to comply 
with the original order of the Commissioners. 

In due time the Town gave its Selectmen the necessary 
authority; and the work was satisfactorily accomplished; cost- 
ing the Town for that part of the work done on the Ell Pond 
brook, $4,048.42, and on the Spot Pond brook $3,100; a total 
of $7,148.42. These brooks are now in excellent condition to 
the Maiden line, in which municipality the decree of the 
Commissioners has never yet been completed. They consti- 
tute the only avenue for the surface drainage of a constantly 
increasing community. 

The next action in connection with this very important 
subject was taken at a Town Meeting held November 18, 1895: 

Voted, That John Larrabee, Arthur M. Willis. Seth E. Benson and 
Francis S. Hesseltine be appointed, they to elect another citizen, so 
that the committee shall consist of five members, and the board of 



312 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

selectmen, ex officio, to take into consideration all matters relating 
to the present imperfect drainage of the town, through the medium of 
Ell Pond and Spot Pond brooks ; also to examine into the attitude of 
the city of Maiden in allowing the waters of said streams to be choked 
and dammed up within the territory of said city, contrary to the or- 
ders given by the county commissioners under authority of Chapter 
378, of the Acts of 1869, thus allowing the waters of said brooks to 
flow back upon property of citizens of the town of Melrose, to the 
great damage of private interests, and more especially of the public 
health. 

Voted, That said committee commence their investigations without 
delay and report their findings hereunder to the town at the earliest 
practicable moment. 

Levi S. Gould was added to this committee. At an ad- 
journed Town Meeting April 7, 1896, it was 

Voted, That the committee in the matter of Ell and Spot Pond 
brooks be directed to invite the co-operation of the city of Maiden in 
the widening, deepening and removal of all obstructions in said public 
drain within the limits of Maiden, to the depth and width intended 
under the original orders of the count}' commissioners; and should 
they be unable to accomplish this result, then to commence such pro- 
ceeding, as may in their judgment be necessary to compel said city to 
perform its duty in the premises. For the purpose of enabling said 
committee to carry out the spirit of this vote, the sum of two hundred 
and fifty dollars (#250) is hereby raised and appropriated. 

The City of Maiden did not recognize this action on the part 
of Melrose, consequently no further action relative to the 
matter of drainage was taken until the Town Meeting held 
March 8, 1897, when it was voted: 

That the Selectmen be authorized to petition the Legislature for an 
act to authorize the County Commissioners of Middlesex Count}^, to 
assume control of Spot Pond and Ell Pond brooks in Melrose and 
Maiden, to use said brooks or streams in such manner as they may 
deem necessary for proper drainage and the public health. 

Nearly two years went by before any further action of im- 
portance was taken. February 15, 1900, Mayor Charles L. 
Dean, of Maiden, addressed a letter to Mayor Levi S. Gould, 
asking that a conference concerning the " Spot Pond Brook 
matter" be held in City Hall, Maiden, February 22, at which 
he desired the presence of the Mayor, City Solicitor, Engineer 
of Public Works, Representative to the General Court, and 



DRAINAGE AND HEALTH. 313 

others. At the request of Mayor Gould a committee from the 
Board of Aldermen was appointed to meet with the above, 
consisting of Aldermen Fernald, Goss, Moore, Folger, Foster, 
Everett and Burnett. 

A month later the Mayor sent the following communication 
to the Board: 

Melrose, Mass., March 19, 1900. 
To the Honorable the Board of Aldermen. 

Gentlemen : — I respectfully call your attention to the flowage of 
lands and streets through which runs Spot Pond brook. The present 
condition of affairs is largely attributable to the action of the Common- 
wealth in turning a large drainage area from its ordinary flowage into 
Spot Pond and depositing it through an unnatural channel in such a 
rapid and unusual way as to deluge the low lands of Melrose and Mai- 
den. This sort of thing is growing constantly worse and demands an 
immediate remedy. My advice would be to instruct our Representa- 
tive and Senator to ask the Legislature to pass an act which shall 
cause the Metropolitan Water Board to so widen, deepen and 
straighten Spot Pond brook in Melrose, Stoneham and Maiden as to 
allow the water from said pond and its vicinity to flow unobstructed 
to the sea. This action ought to be taken at once. 

Very Respectfully, 

Levi S. Gould, Mayor, 

May 28, 1900, Mayor Gould addressed the Board of Alder- 
men on this subject, and during his remarks read the following 
communication made to the Maiden and Melrose committee: 

Metropolitan Water Board, 3 Mt. Vernon St. 

Boston, May 25, 1900. 
To the Co7n7nittce on the part of Maiden and Melrose in relation to Spot 
Pond Brook. 

Gentlemen : — The Metropolitan Water Board has considered the 
matter of Spot Pond brook. We do not feel that it is possible before 
the adjournment of the Legislature, to advise you as to a specific plan 
by which the improvement such as you suggest could be carried out. 
It would be a difficult matter to determine what work should be done 
simply to protect the lands along the brook so far as to put them in 
the situation enjoyed before the pond was used for water purposes, or 
before any disturbance was caused by the operations of the Metropoli- 
tan Water Board. It now seems, however, that when the work is 
undertaken, in the interest of the City of Melrose and probably of the 
City of Maiden, that a much wider scope should be taken, and the 



314 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

operations should be so carried on that a decided improvement should 
be made for the benefit of the abutting lands. The best suggestion 
that we could make to you in reference to legislation would seem to be 
for you to obtain authority for the appointment of a board which 
should take the whole matter into consideration and determine what 
disturbance has been caused and what improvement should be made, 
and also to determine by what method it is desirable that any sug- 
gested improvement should be carried out, and who should be held to 
make payment therefor. This inquiry might be made by the Metro- 
politan Sewerage Commission, The inquiry should certainly seem to 
call for a pretty careful consideration as to what was accomplished 
under the statute of 1869. 

It would seem that there is little danger of more damage being done in 
the coming year than during the last so far as the operations of our 
Board are concerned, and it is not likely that we shall have floods like 
those of the past year. If, however, it seemed desirable by your com- 
mittee that more specific work should be undertaken an act might be 
passed by which, say, the Metropolitan Sewerage Commission should 
be empowered to carry out the improvement, that betterments should 
be imposed upon abutters or others who are benefited by the opera- 
tions, and that the parties upon whom assessments should be made 
for carrying on the work, or liable for the damages resulting, should 
be ascertained by a commission to be appointed by the Supreme 
Court, and that this same commission should be empowered to de- 
termine the amount which should be paid by each of the assessable 
parties. 

We do not think, however, that any propositions can be suddenly 
made which will result in proper legislation for accomplishing the ends 
desired. Yours Very Truly, 

Henry H. Sprague, Chairman. 

June II, 1900, Mayor Gould sent a communication to the 
Board, and as Chairman of the General Committee he referred 
to this subject as follows: 

Regarding the matter of Spot Pond Brook I have to report in 
addition to what I stated before your Honorable Board, that a full 
meeting of the Committee having this matter in charge was held at 
City Hall, Maiden, on the evening of June 7th, and it was deemed 
unadvisable to attempt to do anything in connection with the Legis- 
lature this year, but the same committee was continued with full 
powers to make all necessary arrangements to bring the subject to the 
attention of the next General Court. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, January 28, 1901^ 
President Robinson appointed His Honor Mayor Larrabee^ 



DRAINAGE AND HEALTH. 315 

and Aldermen Fernald, Everett and Moore, to act with Senator 
George R. Jones, and Representative Charles H. Adams, in 
this matter of the drainage of Spot and Ell Pond Brooks. 
Several meetings were held but no definite action was taken 
until 1902, when an act was passed by the Legislature, author- 
izing and directing the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage 
Board 

to investigate the condition of Spot Pond brook in Stoneham, Melrose 
and Maiden, and report a plan for such improvements to the brook as 
will provide for the easy and natural flow of water from Doleful Pond 
and surrounding' country turned into it by said board to tide water. 

The Board is to take the whole subject into consideration, 
find a feasible and desirable plan to remedy the existing evils, 
to apportion expenses and betterments to all interested parties, 
and to report to the General Court before January 15, 1903. 

It is hoped that in the near future, with the united action of 
Maiden, the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board and our 
own municipality, these waters may have no hindrance or 
impediment in their journey to the sea. 

During the last few years Melrose has been greatly troubled 
with the surface drainage question in its residential centres. It 
has been a problem to the solving of which much thought and 
labor has been given. Many thousands of dollars have been 
spent on streets, particularly side-hill streets, only to be dissi- 
pated by the first heavy down-pour of rain. Many districts in 
the lower lands have been flooded, with no proper outflow. 

So great had become the evil that Engineer and Superin- 
tendent of Public Works, W. Dabney Hunter, was ordered, by 
the Board of Aldermen, to devise some system of relief. 
November 19, 1900, he submitted a very thorough and ex- 
haustive report for such a system of surface drainage, estimat- 
ing the cost, exclusive of any improvements in the Ell Pond 
brook to the Maiden line, at $334,610. This report was 
adopted by the Board of Aldermen, and the work commenced 
July 9, 1901, with an appropriation of $10,000 with which to 
construct a portion of said system. 

The sum of $10,639.19 was expended under the direction of 
the Mayor, in different parts of the City, wherever in his judg- 
ment the most serious trouble existed, and in this manner, 
many sections of the City were benefited. In furtherance of 
this work, the Legislature, in 1902, passed an act authorizing 



516 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

the issuance of $100,000 in bonds, with the view of using only 
a portion of them, $20,000 each year, as the work progressed. 

By a provision of the City Charter, the issuing of bonds, or 
a permanent loan, must be submitted to the voters of the City, 
at the next annual municipal election, or a special election, 
called for that purpose, if a petition signed by one hundred 
legal voters be filed with the City Clerk. In this case this ac- 
tion was taken, and nothing more can be done in the matter of 
surface drainage until after the next election. It is to be 
hoped that the act will be accepted, and the means thus 
afforded of continuing this very important work for the peace, 
health and comfort of our citizens. 

BOARD OF HEALTH. 

Closely connected with this subject of Drainage is the 
supervising action of a Board of Health. To the wise over- 
sight of this Board, in keeping watch of the presence of various 
diseases, requiring the observance of certain rules, the removal 
of offences of many kinds, especially those relating to sewers, 
plumbing, garbage, etc., is due to a very great extent the well 
being of our community. Many are the complaints made and 
remedies instituted. 

Our first regular Board of Health was elected at the Annual 
Town Meeting, March 3, 1890, and consisted of the following 
persons: Ernest S. Jack, M. D., Chairman; Frank L. Washburn 
and George W. Burke. Previous to this time the duties of a 
Board of Health had been performed, as required by statute 
by the Selectmen, one of whom acted as Chairman. From 
1890, until the Town became a City, a board of three members 
was regularly elected; the last one being composed as follows: 
John E. Sanb6rn, M. D., Chairman; Corydon W. Harlow, M. D., 
and William H. Dole. An annual report has been regularly 
made, the last one under Town government being the tenth. 

After the City was incorporated the Board of Health was 
nominated by the Mayor, and subject to confirmation by the 
Board of Aldermen. The first Board thus appointed for 1900, 
consisted of Clarence P. Holden, M. D., Chairman; Paul H. 
Provandie, M. D., and William H. Dole. The members for 1901 
were Paul H. Provandie, M. D., Chairman; William H. Dole 
and Joseph H. Robinson. Under the auspices of this Board 
a pamphlet of thirty-three pages has been issued giving at length 



DRAINAGE AND HEALTH. 317 

the " Rules and Regulations of the Board of Health." Mr. Dole 
resigned to become Inspector of Animals and Provisions, and 
Dr. John T. Timlin was appointed in his place. For 1902 the 
Board remains the same. 

Notwithstanding all the trouble Melrose has had to contend 
with during all these years, in drainage matters, its health has 
been most excellent, as can be easily verified by facts and 
figures. When George Wingate Chase, author of the History 
of Haverhill, was one of our citizens, he was employed in the 
ofifice of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, upon the census 
of 1865. From the State Registration Reports he then made a 
computation which showed that in point of health, Melrose 
stood number three when compared with all the other cities 
and towns in the State. About that time a similar computa- 
tion was made by Dr. Erastus O. Phinney, a resident physician 
for twenty years, of the immediately surrounding towns, which 
confirmed this statement. Other testimony is readily obtair.ed 
to show that for healthiness of situation, and for the general 
good health of its inhabitants, Melrose occupies a very high 
position. 



CHAPTER XV. 

PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. 

IN 1856, Hon. Daniel W. Gooch and Walter Littlefield bought 
the greater part of the Upham and Lynde farms, situated 
between Lebanon, Upham and Grove Streets, had the land 
surveyed and laid out in house lots, naming the tract "The 
Home Association Lands." The sale of these lots at public 
auction, took place in the Meonian Hall of the old Tremont 
Temple, and most of the lots were disposed of at that time; 
and soon after the purchasers began to build thereon; now 
nearly every one contains a dwelling or store. At the time 
of the survey, there was reserved all the land bounded by 
East Foster Street on the north, Sixth Street on the east, 
Laurel Street on the south, and Larrabee Street on the west, for 
a public park. It is now known as the "Melrose Common." 
It was a neglected spot for many years; but of late, after the 
establishment of the Board of Park Commissioners, the Town 
made small appropriations, at different times, for its improve- 
ment, but it still remains in a somewhat primeval state. Year 
by year, it is being utilized more and more as the place for the 
City's Fourth of July celebrations, display of fireworks, etc. 
It is hoped that some day the City will appropriate sufficient 
money to make of this a beautiful and healthful breathing spot 
and play ground. 

In 1882, the Legislature passed an act authorizing towns and 
cities to lay out public parks within their limits; and at a 
Town Meeting held November 12, 1887, it was voted to accept 
its provisions, and the following Park Commissioners were then 
elected : Nathaniel P. Jones, for three years; William N. Fol- 
som, for two years; John W. Farwell, for one year. 

In 1889, William A. Rodman was elected for three years; 
resigning soon after, George T. Brown was elected to fill the 
vacancy. 



PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. 319 

In 1890, the Town voted to buy the Barry homestead, corner 
of Main and Lynde Streets, as the site for a new Hose House 
for the Wyoming District, for the sum of ;J2,500. It was after- 
wards decided not to be a suitable location, therefore the house 
was sold and moved away; and the little triangular tract of 
land remains the property of the City, and was placed under 
the jurisdiction of the Park Commissioners. Perhaps it had 
better be called the "Barry Park." 

Sewall Woods Park. At a Town Meeting held June 8, 
1891, it was voted as follows: 

That whereas, it is understood that the Sewall heirs desire under 
certain conditions to present to the town of Melrose, ten acres of land 
for use as a public park, embracing the central and highest portions of 
the Sewall estate, it is hereby resolved, that a committee of nine be 
appointed, to consist of the Selectmen, the Park Commissioners, and 
three citizens to be named by the Moderator, who shall confer with 
the representatives of the Sewall family and ascertain their wishes and 
intentions in the matter, and report at the next town meeting. 

John W. Farwell, Royal P. Barry and D. Webster Dow were 
appointed as citizens; the Selectmen were Levi S. Gould, John 
P. Deering and Charles W'. Higgins; the Park Commissioners, 
Nathaniel P. Jones, William N. Folsom and George T. Brown. 
This reservation was the central part of the wild and beautiful 
tract of land which belonged to the late Hon. Samuel E. 
Sewall, adjoining his homestead at the corner of Perkins and 
Vinton Streets, and which was now offered to the Town l)\' his 
daughter, Mrs. Edward C. Cabot of Brookline, in accordance 
with the wishes of her late sister. Dr. Lucy E. Sewall, with the 
proviso that the Town build a street, to be known as " Sewall 
Woods Road" around the tract thus donated, according to a 
plan drawn b)- Walter C. Stevens. Another wish of Mrs. 
Cabot, not a condition or restriction, was: 

That none of the trees on said premises shall be cut down unless 
decayed, or that it shall be considered necessary so to do for the bene- 
fit of the remaining ones, or for the benetit of the public use of said 
woods, and that the woods shall be maintained as far as possible, or 
reasonable in their present wild condition. 

At a Town Meeting held July 7, 1891, the committee made 
a report which was unanimously accepted and adopted, and it 
was voted: 



320 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

That the town of Melrose hereby accepts the proposition of Mrs. 
Edward C. Cabot, of Brookline, Mass., as contained in her letter of 
July 6, 1 89 1, addressed to the Board of Selectmen, presenting to said 
town certain land, for a public park with the conditions therein ex- 
pressed, that the town build and make the road as indicated on a plan 
drawn by Walter C. Stevens, and accept it as a town way and that the 
town provide perpetual care of said park, and call the gift " Sewall 
Woods," in honor of the memory of our late respected citizen, Hon. 
Samuel E. Sewall. 

April 25, 1892, it was voted to build this Sewall Woods Road, 

and that so much of the bank and corporation taxes of this year, as- 
may be necessary, be appropriated to build the street. 

The Sewall Woods Park is being kept by the City in the 
state desired by the donors, and is being gradually surrounded 
by first-class dwellings. The Sewall Mansion, which was not 
included in the gift to the City, still remains as left by the 
family. 

In 1893 and 1895 three new Park Commissioners were 
chosen: Maurice G. Cochrane, Charles H. Adams and P'rank 
F. Preble, and the last Board previous to City corporation, con- 
sisted of Charles H. Adams, Chairman; Maurice G. Cochrane 
and Willis C. Goss. 

At a Town Meeting held November 15, 1894, it was voted: 

That the park commissioners, together with four others to be 
appointed by the chair, take into consideration matters in relation to 
the internal improvement of the town so far as parks are concerned, 
and report at some future meeting. 

Col. P^rancis S. Hesseltine, Hon. William E. Barrett, Joshua 
T. Nowell and John W. Robson, were appointed. April 8^ 
1895, thi^ committee reported through its chairman, Charles H. 
Adams, 

showing the advantages to be gained by laying out certain open places 
as parks, particularly the place known as Dix Pond, in the rear of the 
Town Hall, embracing about six acres of land and water. 

He moved that an appropriation of $25,000 be made to carry 
out the proposition, but it was indefinitely postponed. The 
next movement in behalf of extending the park system was 
more successful. 

At a Town Meeting held Nov. 8, 1897, a committee of fixe,, 
three of whom were the Park Commissioners, was appointed 



PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. 321 

to consider the expediency of taking from twenty to twenty- 
five acres of land, including the tract known as the Base Ball 
Park, on the northerly and westerly side of Ell Pond, for Park 
purposes. November 23, the committee was increased by 
adding- three more, and it was then constituted as follows: 
Sidney H. Buttrick, Hon. William E. Barrett, George R. Jones, 
Frank L. Washburn, Chester Shepard, and the three commis- 
sioners, Charles H. Adams, Maurice G. Cochrane and Frank ¥. 
Preble. December 23, a report was made by the Chairman, 
Charles H. Adams, which was accepted. The Town then pro- 
ceeded to pass the following vote: 

For the purpose of taking land for park purposes, a sum not exceed- 
ing fifteen thousand dollars (515,000) is appropriated, and the Town 
Treasurer is authorized to borrow the same, giving coupon notes of the 
Town, of one thousand dollars ($1,000) each, bearing interest at the 
rate of 4 per cent, per annum, interest payable semi-annually. Nine 
of said notes to be payable, one each year from the time of issue. 
The balance of said fifteen thousand dollars (515,000) to be payable in 
one note ten years from date of issue with interest at 4 per cent, per 
annum, payable semi-annually. This loan to be known as the Melrose 
park loan. 

Under this vote the Park Commissioners proceeded to take 
the land described for park purposes by right of eminent 
domain, and it is named " Ell Pond Park." January 31, 1902, 
two of these notes had been paid, leaving Park Debt now 
$13,000. 

During the year 1898, the building of a new boulevard from 
the Fells, at the western boundary of Melrose, thence by the 
Sewall Woods, Ell Pond (of which Mr. de Las Casas, chair- 
man of the Metropolitan Park Commission, once said that no 
town north of Boston had so fine an opportunity for a beautiful 
park as was here presented) Bennett's Pond, Pranker's Pond, 
and so on to the Lynn Woods, was agitated; and in view of 
this urgently desired possibility, the Town at its last meeting, 
held November 9, 1899, passed the following vote: 

That in the event of the building of a boulevard, by the Metropoli- 
tan Park Commission, from the Fells to the Lynn Woods, along the 
shore of Ell Pond, that it is the unanimous sentiment of the meeting, 
that the Park land consisting of about twenty-three acres on the north 
side of Ell Pond, be transferred to the Metropolitan Park Commission, 
in accordance with the law relating to such transfers and control. It 
is the desire of the Town to contribute this land towards the proposed 
Metropolitan Boulevard. 



322 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In accordance with this vote, Charles H. Adams, chairman 
of the Melrose Park Commissioners, presented to the Metro- 
politan Park Commissioners, for the State, the formal vote of 
the Town conveying the park land around Ell Pond, costing 
$15,000, to be used for boulevard purposes. 

Concerning this proposed boulevard the Metropolitan Park 
Commissioners, in their report of January i, 1901, favored the 
route through Melrose, as will be seen by the following: 

From Lynn Woods to Middlesex Fells only two routes are available. 
The topography of the intervening country makes it likely that no 
others will ever be considered available, while the trend of population 
is such that the cost of either will undoubtedly be greater in the future 
than now. The more northerly or Wakefield route is from the Great 
Woods Road of Lynn Woods, along Hewlett's Pond and Brook in 
Saugus to Hart's Hill and Crj'stal Lake [Smith's Pond] in Wakefield,' 
and thence southwesterly to the Fells at Doleful Pond in Stoneham. 
This route would provide a parkway about six miles long, through 
scenery of much the same character as that of the reservations. 
To preserve its beauty would require ample takings, amounting almost 
to an extension of the reservations to meet each other. The most 
southerly or Melrose route is from the same Great Woods Road across 
the upper Saugus Meadows, through an interval between the hills 
to Ell Pond in Melrose and thence to the Fells. Its length would be 
about four and one-half miles. The first two-thirds of the route 
would be through open lands of low cost, while the remaining land, 
except the park lands along Ell Pond, would be in a compactly 
settled and attractive portion of Melrose. Its scenery would be that 
of an intervale parkway, attractive and restful in the midst of a large 
population, and a contrast to the wilder scenery of the reservations. 
The cost of the land for this route would be about $75,000, which is 
about $10,000 in excess of the estimated cost of land by the Wakefield 
route. The cost of construction for the Melrose route would be about 
$190,000, while that of the Wakefield route would be about $226,000. 
By either route, however, partial construction would probably answer 
for many years to come. The choice between these two routes must 
rest on practical considerations other than those of attractiveness or 
accommodations to the city or town in which the parkway would lie. 
Taking all these considerations into account, the Commission regards 
the Melrose or intervale route as most desirable. Its reasons, stated 
briefly, are that this route is shorter, that it is available to a larger 
population, and will divide the northern half of the district more 
equitably; that its attractiveness is less dependent upon surrounding- 
scenery, likely to be destroyed in time ; and that its contrast to the 
scenery of the reservations will be a pleasant element of variety in the 
Park System. 



PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. 323 

In addition to the public lands already described, there are, 
in different parts of the cit^^ besides the grounds around City 
Hall, several small plats, which were in the care of the Board 
of Park Commissioners and came within their jurisdiction, but 
are now cared for by the Public Works Department. One is 
the triangle at the corner of Green and Howard Streets, in the 
centre of which is a large and handsome fountain, generously 
given for the purpose of beautifying that part of the town, by 
Henry A. Norris and George M. Dennis; the latter then living 
on Howard Street. Another tract of similar shape, at the junc- 
tion of Elm and Linden Streets, also contains a fountain, the 
gift of Mr. Norris. Another very pretty triangle, with hand- 
some granite edge-stone, is situated at the junction of Vinton 
and Perkins Streets, opposite the entrance to the Sewall Woods 
Park. Another is situated at the junction of Main and Green 
Streets. This is an interesting spot; for here stood for many 
years North Maiden's first church; a unique little affair, built 
by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1818, the history of 
which has been given in previous pages. Still another, is the 
triangle at the junction of Vinton and West Foster Streets, in 
front of the D. W. Gooch School. 

The land between the eastern end of Ell Pond and Main 
Street, has been put in good condition; a substantial wall 
built, with an iron railing, seats placed thereon, and this is now 
under the care of the Public Works Department. 

At a Town Meeting held April 11, 1898, it was voted: 

That until otherwise voted by the Town the High School lot on 
Emerson Street be placed in charge of the Park Commissioners. 

The values of the Park properties as given in the "Schedule 
of City Property " for 1902, are as follows: 

Ell Pond Park, 23 acres, ...... Si 5,000 

Old High School Lot, 30,300 square feet, . . . lO,6oo 

Melrose Common, 4.35 acres, ..... 10,000 

Sewall Woods Park, 9 acres, 10,000 square feet, 11,250 

Land, east side P^ll Pond 1,000 

Triangle, cor. Main and Green Streets, 5,000 feet, . 500 

Triangle, cor. Main and Lynde Streets, 5,000 feet, . 1,250 



$49,600 
This leaves out of the account the small triangular lots. 



324 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Middlesex Fells. Some of the wildest, most rugged and 
picturesque portions of the territory known as the Middlesex 
Fells — at first designated as an "uncouth wilderness," then 
as "the Rocks," and later as "Five Mile Woods" — are found 
within the bounds of Melrose. Here is the beautiful Ravine 
Road, leading from Wyoming Avenue, by the Virginia Woods, 
with its majestic pines and hemlocks, to Spot Pond. 




RAVINE ROAD. 



On the right, going from Melrose to Maiden, are the beet- 
ling crags which form the eastern edge of the Fells. Between 
the summits of Black Rock and White Rock, the charming 
Cascade, previously described, comes tumbling down from the 
top of these rocks, during each spring and autumn. This 
forest reservation, which includes the holdings of the Metro- 
politan Water and Sewerage Board, and the local Boards of 
Medford and Winchester, is now under the jurisdiction of the 
Metropolitan Park Commission. 

At the present time there are 23.98 miles of wood-roads and 
bridle-paths, 13.67 miles of carriage-roads, and 3.37 miles of 
border-roads; a total of 41.02 miles. The approaching boule- 
vards and roads are as follows: Middlesex Fells Parkway, 
4.605 miles; Mystic Valley Parkway, 2.900 miles; Whitmore 
Brook Entrance, .813 miles; and Bear Hill Entrance, .398 



PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. 325 

miles; a total of 8.716 miles; thus affording walks and drives 
almost unlimited, in many directions. 

The area of the F*ells is now 1,882.95 acres, of which 726.15 
acres are in the Town of Stoneham, 177.54 acres in the. City of 
Melrose, 59.37 acres in the City of Maiden, 669.08 acres in the 
City of Medford and 250.61 acres in the Town of Winchester. 
In addition to the lands acquired by this Commission, there 
are 1,145.03 acres of lands in the Middlesex Fells held by the 
Metropolitan Water Board and the local water boards of 
Winchester and Medford. which have, by agreement with these 
Boards, been placed under the care and control of this Com- 
mission, and are used by the public in the same manner and to 
the same extent as the park lands. For practical purposes, 
therefore, the Middlesex Fells ma)- be considered as a reserva- 
tion of 3,027.97 acres.^ 

The location and character of these Fells were well described 
by Sylvester Baxter, in the Boston Herald, December 6, 1879. 

Something like five miles northerly from Boston lies a great tract 
of country, all stony hills and table-lands, almost uninhabited, and of 
wonderful picturesqueness, and wild, rugged beauty. It is within the 
City of Maiden, and the towns of Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and 
Winchester ; and its heart is that most beautiful of Boston's suburban 
lakes, Spot Pond, which lies high up among the hills. The limits of 
this region are defined with great clearness, especially on the south 
and east, a line of steep hills and ledges rising abruptly from the broad 
plain that borders the Mystic River, almost as level as a floor, and 
forming its southern boundary, while on the east the ledges start with 
still greater steepness out of the long valley of meadow-land through 
which the Boston and Maine Railroad passes. ... Its western margin 
is formed by the valley through which run the Lowell Railroad and 
its Stoneham branch, and its northern by the houses and fields of 
Stoneham, . . . The nature of the region cannot be better character- 
ized than by the application of the old Saxon designation /c-Z/j-, — a 
common enough word in England, meaning a tract of wild stone hills, 
corresponding to the German /t7j-<?//. 

This tract lies wholly in Middlesex County, hence the name 
Middlesex Fells. A great variety of scenery is presented in 
these Fells, wild and romantic. In the very centre slumbers 
the ever beautiful Spot Pond, dotted with its islands; to the 
west are the irregular, wood-surrounded series of Winchester 
Reservoirs; to the north, the smaller Doleful and Dark Hollow 

^ Ninth Report of JSIetropolitan Park Commission for 190/, p. 15. 



32() HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Ponds; and to the east two pretty little ponds, Shiner and 
Hemlock; numerous hills and valleys; Pine and Cairn Hills in 
the soutluMii portion, and Hear Hill in the north.'^ From these 
prominent peaks magnificent and extensive views are obtained; 
that Irom Black- Kock, on our territory, has been described in 
previous pa^^es; the one from the Cairn, near the stone post No. 
7, formin^^ the boundary between Maiden, Melrose and Stone- 
ham is a very fine one; but the best and most extensive one to 
be had in the whole I'^ells reservation, is that from the tower 
which has been erected on the top of Bear Hill, on the wester- 
ly side of Spot Pond. This view has been comprehensively 
described by Prof. Charles I^. I\iy of Tufts Collcf^c, in part as 
follows: 

Tile view from Hear Hill is iiilerestiii<^, first of all, for what lies near 
at hand. Krom no point, perhaps, can one secure a more comprehen- 
sive view of the Middlesex Fells; nnd it is over these scantly wooded 
knolls, or between them, thnt one catches glimpses of Boston and its 
neighi)ors. The horizon from south to west is set with familiar emi- 
nences, -the Blue Hill Kanj^e, the hills of Hrookline and Newton, 
with distant Fej^an over 15elmont, and then the heights of Arlington, 
Lexington, and W'oburn. TIhmi the sky-line suddenly retreats, and 
for sixty degrees we have an almost continuous line of distant moun- 
tains. How they gleam these March days under their snowy mantles! 
l-'irst the "whale-back" of Wachuselt, nearly due wi'st ; next, after 
two or thiee considiTable hills, Watatic rises in a pronounced cone; 
then comes the monarch of them all, the grand Monadnock. 

He then describes Kidder aiul Lyndel)()r() mountain rani^es, 
the Joe ICntj^lish summit, the llncanoonucs, Kearsage, the Hills 
of Andover, and closes with: 

Ovi'r other gently swelling hills of lOssex Count)' the view ranges, 
until, summoning courage to |)ass the great iam|)art of masonry that 
crowns the sunnnit of Asylum llill in 1 )an\i'rs, it comes to enjo)- the 
glim])ses of the sea. 

Another has said of thest- i"\'lls: 

To 1)1' fully appreciated tlu-y should be xisited witii the love of 
nature in the lu-arl. Hold blufts, rock (-rowned hills, charming ponds, 

■•^ During the years 1901-02, a res- admitted into the Metropolitan 

ervoir, to hold 2,ooo,o(K) gallons of Water System. It is 29 feet higher 

water, was built on Hear Hill, (or than the I'^ells Reservoir. It cost 

the better sni)])ly of water to (he #19,456. 
town of .StoMi'h.ini, which has been 



PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. 327 

wooded hillsides, quiet dells, cool shaded carriage roads, winding 
and picturesque footpaths combine to make a landscape direct from 
Nature's hands, which appeals to the heart and lifts it instinctively to 
Nature's God. 

And the Metropolitan Park Commissioners say : 

There are dense, dark thickets and open groves, rocky slopes, 
smoothly grazed fields, beds of fern and carpets of evergreen foliage. 

When new legislation shall have provided an instrument by which 
the unifying work which has been done in Lynn may be accomplished 
in the divided Fells, the people of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and 
the nearer municipalities will soon find themselves possessed of a 
common domain which, with its Spot Pond, its Bear Hill, its Pine Hill 
and its many less conspicuous but delightful ponds, pools, brooks and 
crags, will rival, if it will not suipass, Lynn Woods. 

Mr. Warren H. Manning, in his "Notes on the Vegetation 
of the Reservations," in the Metropolitan Park Comviissioners 
Report for i8g^, writing of the beauties of the Middlesex F"ells 
says : 

Never can the views from the hill-tops of the Fells compare in 
variety, grandeur or extent with those from the Blue Hills ; never can 
the views over water, from hill to hill and to valley, be so beautiful or 
so varied in the Blue Hills as they may be in the Fells. One could 
hardly ask for a more attractive combination of land and water. Even 
the artificially impounded waters of the reservoirs are not su.spected to 
be such until their dams are encountered. Of course the wonderful 
variety and the grandeur of the primitive forest have long since dis- 
appeared; but with all the destruction of two hundred and fifty years 
there is still much that is beautiful, and there are dismal wastes of 
burned and falling brush. Large areas covered with deciduous trees 
are less frequently spotted by scattered pines than at the Blue Hills. 
Where the pine appears it is in large groups, or broad masses that are 
so well disposed with the surrounding deciduous growths that beautiful 
landscape effects are produced. Great hemlocks appear in places 
with the pines, and do much to add to the beauty of the forest scenery. 
... No lover of nature can spend a day in the Fells without finding 
several spots that must be deemed remarkably beautiful. There are 
dense, dark thickets and open groves, rocky slopes, smoothly grazed 
fields, beds of fern and carpets of evergreen foliage. . . . Moreover, 
even those spots which are now loveliest may undoubtedly be made 
more i^ermanently and completely lovely by the exercise of watchful 
and sympathetic care. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CEMETERIES. 

THE VILLAGE BURIAL GROUND. 

GOD'S ACRE. 

I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls 
The burial-ground God's Acre ! It is just ; 
It consecrates each grave within its walls, 

And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust. 
» « « » * 
This is the field and Acre of our God, 
This is the place where human harvests grow ! 

Longfellow. 

UNTIL the year 1828, the inhabitants of North Maiden 
buried their dead in the Bell Rock Burj'ing Ground, at 
Maiden Centre, except in certain instances when fami- 
lies established a tomb or burying place on their own premises, 
as was the case with the Uphams on Upham Hill, at the end of 
East Foster Street, which has been described. In the year 
above mentioned, the inhabitants of Maiden bought of William 
Dix, an acre and a half of land on the east side of Main Street, 
for a bur\'ing ground for North Maiden. It was bounded as 
follows: 

Beginning at land of Isaac Emerson and is bounded by the road 
leading from South Reading to Boston, westerly to a stake and stones 
by a ditch, southerly by a ditch by my own land to a stake and 
stones, easterly by my own land to a stake and stones to land of Isaac 
Emerson, thence northerly by said Emerson's land to the bounds 
first mentioned. 

Isaac Emerson then lived where now the Methodist Parson- 
age stands, and William Dix, where now stands the City Hall. 
The price paid was $150. Thus was established the Village 
Cemetery, then commonly called the Village Burying Ground. 

Various citizens served on the Burying Ground Committee 



CEMETERIES. 329 

up to the time when the Wyoming Cemetery was established 
in 1856. At that time, and each year since, a Cemetery Com- 
mittee, consisting of three members has been regularly 
appointed. From 1880 to i8q8, eighteen years. George 
Nevvhall, John Larrabee and Daniel Russell served together in 
that capacity ; In 1898, Mr. Russell having declined further 
service, L. Henry Kunhardt was chosen in his place. The 
Committee for 1900 was John Larrabee, John P. Deering and 
Julian C. Woodman; for 1901-2, John P. Deering, Chairman, 
L. Henry Kunhardt, Secretary, and Oscar F. Frost. 

The salaries of the Cemetery Committee are $25 each, paid 
from the income of the Cemetery. 

Previous to 1880, Nathaniel Howard, "Uncle Nat," the under- 
taker, served many years on both the Bur}'ing Ground and 
Cemetery Committees. Other citizens who have served on 
these committees, at different times, are Stephen Emery, Jon- 
athan Cochran, German S. Phippen, Elbridge Green, John Blake, 
James M. Thresher, Walter Littlefield Jr., and George 
Emerson. 

A plan of the Village Bur}ing Ground was made by Deacon 
Jonathan Cochran, several years ago, and shortly before his 
decease, he deli\ered it to John Larrabee, then Town Clerk, 
and it is now in possession of the city. 

This Cemetery was used as a place of interment from 1828 
until 1889; although after the Wyoming Cemetery was estab- 
lished, only the older families continued to use the old burying 
ground. 

In the year 1889, the question of removing and abolishing the 
Village Cemetery, began to be agitated ; and at a Town Meet- 
ing held April 25, 1889, the following vote was passed. 

That a committee of five be appointed to consider the expediency 
of removing from the old burial ground on Main Street, the bodies 
now interred therein to Wyoming Cemetery, said committee to report 
as to plans, methods, etc., at a future meeting, after public hearing to 
persons interested, if deemed necessary. 

The Committee appointed were Julius S. Clark, John O. 
Norris, John B. .Souther, George T. Brown and W. Irving Ellis. 
For some reason no action was ever taken by this Committee, 
Two years later, June 22, 1891, by request of the Cemetery 
Committee, the Town voted : 

That whenever the heirs or legal representatives of those persons 



330 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

who were permitted to take and occupy lots in the " Old Burying- 
Ground," on Main Street, shall in writing so request, and proper 
arrangements have been made under the supervision or direction of 
the Cemetery Committee for the removal of the remains of all persons 
interred in any of said lots, the Town Treasurer is hereby authorized 
to execute and deliver, for a nominal sum, deeds of such lots in 
Wyoming Cemetery as may be selected or set apart vmder the direction 
and approval of the Cemetery Committee, for the re-interment of such 
remains. 

In order that these instructions might be carried out, the 
Cemetery Committee was authorized to expend from the cem- 
eter}' fund an amount not exceding five hundred dollars (S500). 

At the time when the removal of the bodies from the Village 
to the Wyoming Cemetery began, there had been four hundred 
and thirty-two persons buried therein. A large number of 
these bodies were removed voluntarily by relatives and others 
that were interested, in accordance with the above vote, lots 
being exchanged at a nominal fee of one dollar, and all ex- 
penses being borne by the Town. 

The bodies remaining numbered seventy-nine ; and the 
committee, finding no near relative, or person interested in their 
removal applied to the Legislature, by the direction of the 
Town, for authority to act in the matter ; and at a Town 
Meeting held March 19, 1896, it was voted to accept the pro- 
visions of Chapter 95, Acts of 1896, entitled " An Act providing 
for the removal of the remains of the dead from the Old Burial 
Ground in Melrose ;" the act also specified that the Town 
might make use of the land when thus vacated, for any public 
purposes. The removal of all the remaining bodies was at 
once accomplished. A complete record of all removals and 
assignments of lots was kept by Edwin C. Gould, who has acted 
as clerk of the Cemetery Committee since 1891. Roscoe A. 
Leavitt has been the Superintendent since May i, 1899. 

The result of this transferral has been to remove a burial 
ground from the midst of a thickly populated district, and to 
leave in the very centre of the town, a most valuable tract of 
land; and when the Town voted, in 1896, to erect four new 
school-houses, at a cost of S200,000, this site was at once 
utilized in accordance with the foregoing Legislative Act'; and 
there has been erected thereon, the very handsome edifice for 
the Melrose High School, the history of which has been given 
in the chapter on l^Lducational History. 



CEMETERIES. 331 



WYOMING CEMETERY. 



" This is the realm of Death, who impartially 

knocks at the palace and the cottage gate." 

As the "Village Cemetery" was getting to be too small to 
accommodate all those of our fast growing population who 
were joining " the silent majority," a committee was appointed 
at a Town Meeting held April 2, 1855, consisting of Jonathan 
Cochran, German S. Phippen and Aaron Green, to seek out a 
site for a new cemetery. They reported in due time, and in 
1856 a tract of land containing about twenty-one acres was 
bought of Joseph Lynde, at a cost of $5,961; $3,475.18 was 
expended in laying out lots, building stone walls and other 
necessary expenses, making a total cost, November 3, 1857, of 
;S9,436.i8. This land was charmingly situated for this purpose 
on the southerly side of Boston Rock, between the farms of 
Mr. Lynde on Main Street, and that of Charles Pratt on 
Lebanon Street, with the wooded region on the south and 
west, now known as Pine Banks Park. Its surface contained 
hill, dale and meadow, and it has proved to be an ideal spot 
for a cemetery. It was dedicated in July, 1857, with appro- 
priate exercises, including an address by Hon. Daniel VV. 
Gooch. It now contains many gravestones, monuments and 
tombs. Some of the monuments arc of fine workmanship and 
elaborate design. 

At a Town Meeting held June 9, 1863, the following action 
was taken, recognizing, in part, our indebtedness to those who 
had gone forth to battle for the Union: 

Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to set apart a portion of 
the new cemeter>' for the use of those soldiers engaged in the present 
war, and the families of such soldiers as may choose to use the same. 

Not until 1887 was action taken on the above vote. Then 
these Soldiers' Lots were set apart by the Selectmen in the 
manner shown by this communication : 

7o the Cemetery Committee of the To7vii of Melrose : 

Genti.emen: — Whereas, at a meeting of the inhabitants of the 
town held on the ninth day of June, A. D., 1863, under Article 6 of the 
warrant, which was " To see if the Town will set off and appropriate as 
a free burial place a portion of the new cemetery for the use of those 
soldiers engaged in the present war, and the families of such as 
may choose to use the same," it was Voted: That the Selectmen be 



332 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

authorized to set apart a portion of the new cemetery for the use of 
those soldiers engaged in the present war and the families of such 
soldiers as may choose to use the same. {Town Records, Book i, 
page 425,) And whereas, application has been made to this Board by a 
soldier who enlisted on the quota of this town and rendered service, 
for a suitable burial place for a member of his family, and upon 
examination we find that the vote of the Town, with one exception, 
has not been complied with ; we have therefore set apart in Wyoming 
Cemetery, a plot of land which embraces lots numbered from 648 to 
664, on the plan of said cemetery, to be hereafter known as the 
" Soldiers' Lots," to be given such persons as may apply for the same 
in accordance with the vote passed by the town. 

Levi S. Gould, 
John B. Souther, 
John P, Deering, 

Selectmen of Melrose. 

And in furtherance of this purpose, June 22, 1891, it was 
again voted : 

That the Town Treasurer be and is hereby authorized to execute, 
and deliver to those soldiers or their families who were permitted to 
occupy lots in Wyoming Cemetery under a vote of the town passed 
June 9, 1863, proper deeds conveying a title to the same for a nominal 
sum. 

In 1887, March 7, a committee was appointed consisting of 
George Newhall, Daniel Russell and John Larrabee "to see 
if the Town will purchase or take land for cemetery purposes." 
This was done because it was seen that very soon more land 
must be added to Wyoming Cemetery. April 9, that committee 
reported and the following vote was passed by the Town : 

To adopt the recommendations of the committee, and that the 
treasurer be and he is hereby authorized to accept from Charles Pratt 
a deed of his farm on the westerly side of Lebanon Street ; that the 
treasurer be further authorized to issue in payment therefor a note of 
the town for the sum of ten thousand dollars, payable to the executors 
or administrators of said Pratt's estate, six months after his decease, 
bearing interest at five per cent, per annum, payable semi-annually ; 
that the treasurer shall also execute and deliver unto said Charles 
Pratt a lease of the buildings and not exceeding three acres of the 
land, surrounding the same, which lease shall be valid during his 
natural life ; that the Board of Selectmen be authorized to countersign 
said note and lease. 

This farm contained twenty-eight acres. This makes a 



CEMETERIES. 



3:i8 



total of 47%; acres of land in the present Wyoming Ceme- 
tery, and the total value as given in the Schedule of City 
Property for 1901 is $33,133. At the death of Mr. Pratt, in 
1888, the note was paid to the administrator of the estate. As 
no part of the land is yet needed for the extension of Cemetery 
purposes, it was voted, at a Town Meeting held March 14, 
1898, to utilize a portion of this farm as follows : 

That the Town authorize the Cemetery Committee to transfer the 
Pratt Farm House, so called, with such portion of land as may be 
agreed upon for the use of the Almshouse, to the Overseers of the 
Poor ; and that they be empowered to establish said Pratt Farm House 
as an Almshouse. 

This transfer has been made, and the mansion house, to- 
gether with a certain number of acres of land, has been set 
apart for the benefit of the poor of Melrose, and it is to be 
known as the Melrose Pratt Farm. It is now under the super- 
intendence of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert W. Chandler. 

At a Town Meeting held November 12, 1887, it was voted: 

That the Treasurer be authorized to receive from persons holding, 
occupying, or interested in lots in Wyoming and Main Street ceme- 
teries, sums of money which may be paid him from bequests or other- 
wise, the interest upon which shall be devoted to the payment for care 
of lots in said cemeteries, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 
82, Section 17, Public Statutes. 

As the Main Street Cemetery has been vacated, this only 
applies now to the Wyoming Cemetery. These are known as 
Cemetery Trust Funds; and the following deposits have beea 
made for this purpose up to the present time: 



1885. Estate Sally Upham, .... 

1886. S. B. Cochrane, 

1887. Estate of William H. Jones, . 

1888. Estate of Lynthia L. Burgess, 

1888. C. O. and Mrs. Thomas Robinson, 

1889. Mrs. Caroline Curtis, .... 
1889. C. E. Daniels, Treas., Winchester Homt, 
1889. Estate J. Vincent Smith, M. D., 

1889. Estate of Peter Eflgerly. 

1890. Mrs. Sarah Whovvell, 

1890. William A. Fuller, 

1891. Mrs. J. P. Beckett, 

1891. Louise Earl, 

1892. Daniel Russell, 
1892. Estate of Jonathan Lynde, 



I200.00 
200.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
300.00 
200.00 
100. oa 
50.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
200.00 
loo.oo 



334 



HISTORY OF MBLROSE. 



1892. 
1892. 
1892. 
1893- 
1893- 
1894. 
1894. 
I894. 
1894. 
1894. 
1894. 

1895- 
1895. 

1895- 
1895- 
1895- 



1897. 
1897. 
1897. 
1897. 
1897. 
1898. 



1899. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
19CK) 
1 901. 
1901. 
1901. 
1 901. 
1 901. 
1901. 
1901. 
1901. 
1902. 
1902. 
1902. 



Mrs. Joanna Stackpole, . 

Estate of Eliza L. Crocker, 

Hannah Scrannage, 

Estate of George N. Noyes, 

Estate of James H. Little, 

Estate of Lucy M. A. Payne, 

Estate of Charles D. Wild, 

Estate of Mary G. Upham, 

Elizabeth and George E. Fenn, 

Mrs. Susan P. Whitney, 

Mrs. Lizzie M. Linniken, 

Orrin Brown, 

Mrs. Mary N. Williams, 

William A. and Walter A. Stone, 

Norman F. Hesseltine, 

Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson, 

Luciuda Porter, 

Mrs. Sarah E. Stilpheu, 

Estate of W. H. Upham 

Ruth H. Faxon, 

Thomas D. Lockwood, 

Herman F. Ehlert, . 

Paul M. Giduey, 

Royal P. Barry, Trustee 

Elizabeth C. Lovejoy, 

Thomas Marshall, . 

Joseph D. Wilde, . 

Judith B. Mattoon, . 

Charles W. Warner, 

Ernest A. Neilly, . 

Estate William Bogle, 

Estate Sarah J. Barrett, 

Estate Charles P. F. Frentz, 

Sarah M. Coats, 

Estate Isaac Emerson, 

Samuel H. Nowell, 

Evora Brown, 

Bertha Bareutine, . 

Hiram Cobb, 

Osmore Jenkins, 

Ellen R. Shapleigh, 

Helen E. Backer, . 

William A. Orcutt, 

Sarah H. Hunt, 

Julia M. Woods, 

Calvin N. Chapin, . 

William F. R. Bowers, 

Heman J. Pettengill, 

Minot K. Kendall, . 

Orietta E. Simonds, 



$100.00 
100.00 

50.00 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 

50.00 
150.00 
100 00 
100.00 
100.00 
200.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 

62.50 

50.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
150.00 

50.00 
150.00 
100.00 

50.00 

50.00 
150.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
150.00 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
165.00 
100.00 
206.50 
150.00 
150.00 



CEMETERIES. 



385 



1902. Frank E. Orcutt, 

1902. Agnes S. Taylor, 

1902. Caroline C. Skinner, 

1902. A. C. Clausen, 

1902. Estate Ann K. Shelton, 



fioo.oo 
150.00 
100.00 
170.00 
i8o.oo 



Total, 18,684.00 



THE JKWISH CEMETERY. 

At a Town Meetinor held November 30, i860, the following 
vote was passed: 

That the Beth Eil Congregation of Israelites be allowed to purchase 
a lot of land on Linwood Avenue, of William J. Farnsworth, for burial 
purposes. 

In accordance with this vote, this lot situated on the west 
side of Linwood avenue, a few rods north of Sylvan Street, 
was bought and dedicated as a Jewish Cemetery. March 30. 
1875, it was incorporated as the " Corporation Beth Eil." 
The many head-stones and monuments contained in this burial 
ground, inscribed with Hebrew characters, indicate that it has 
been extensively used by that nation, most, if not all, being 
non-residents of Melrose. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 

THE first Young Men's Christian Association in Melrose 
was organized June 24, 1858, with the following officers: 
Rev. William H. Munroe, President; William F. Poole, 
Vice President; Stephen A. Shelton, Corresponding Secretary; 
Elbridge H. Goss, Recording Secretary; George N. Noyes, 
Treasurer; Guy Lamkin, William H. Allen and Fernando C. 
^— -^-^^^ Taylor, Directors. It met in the Waverley Build- 
/^'^Z^^^^^^^K i'lgi in ^ room up one flight, corner of Essex and 

(i( ^"''' " U) Emerson Streets, the rent of which was kindly 

^A\A»oci.tion/^ given by Messrs. David L. and John G. Webster. 
^^!Xb3^ Another donation was a handsome Bible, having 
upon its cover the following inscription: " Presented to the 
Melrose Y. M. C. Association by H. Furnas, Vice President 
of the Boston Y. M. C. Association, Nov., 1858." It would 
seem that the town was not large enough to sustain such an 
association; at all events, it was a short-lived one, continuing 
less than two years. 

The present Association was organized December 10, 1890. 
It was established by earnest Christian men, who met in ac- 
cordance with a call issued in the Mclro&e yonr7ial as follows: 

It is proposed to organize a Young Men's Christian Association 
next Wednesday evening, December 10, at 8 o'clock, at Westgate's 
Hall, Main Street. All citizens of the Town and every young man 
interested in having such an organization formed, are invited to be 
present promptly at that hour. Albert B. Franklin, Charles C. Barry, 
Royal B. Leighton, Charles S. Macfarland, Leonard S. Leighton, 
Franklin P. Shumway, William P. Pierce, Wingate P. Sargent, Frank 
H. Bosson, William Wooldridge. 

This action grew out of a conversation previously held by the 
six first named gentlemen, during a dinner hour at Fellner's 
Restaurant, in Boston. The matter had been in the minds of 
quite a number of Christian workers for some months previous 
to this determination; and was now established for the moral 



YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 



387 



well-being and spiritual benefit of the young men of Melrose; 
and as such, it has been, and continues to be a most beneficent 
institution, exerting a powerful influence for the welfare of 
this community. 




Mi;i,KUSlv Y. M. C. A. BUItDING. 

For about two months religious services were held in West- 
gate Hall, and in March, 1891, rooms were leased in the 
Westgate building at No. 522 Main Street, now owned by A. 
J. Philbrick, the first service being held therein, March 28, 1891. 

The first board of officers was as follows: Leonard S. 
Leighton, President; Albert B. Franklin, Vice President; P>ank 



388 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

H. Bosson, Clerk; John Larrabee, Treasurer; William P. 
Pierce, Charles C. Hodges. Trueworthy Xorris, Franklin P. 
Shumway. Charles S. Macfarland and William F. Bacall, 
Directors. 

The Association was incorporated in 1S92, and the growing 
necessity for enlarged quarters, and the desirability of having 
a building of their own, suitable for all the Association needs, 
became the prominent and absorbing thought of its members 
and friends. Numerous meetings were held with this objedt 
in view, and plans discussed. Subscriptions being solicited, 
our citizens responded generously; and in due time sufficient 
money had been raised to warrant the Association to begin 
the building which persistent labor successfully completed. 

The old Joseph H. Green place on IMain Street was pur- 
chased, ground broken and the corner-stone laid August 25, 
1894. with appropriate services. The building was finished 
and dedicated April r, 1895. 

It is a handsome three-story brick building, main part 70 b}' 
50 feet, with annex 50 by 40 feet, possessing all of the up-to- 
date appliances, and every accommodation to be found in 
first-class Associations. The street floor is occupied by the 
Melrose National Bank and the Melrose Public Library and 
Reading Room, with a thoroughly appointed gymnasium in 
the rear. A fine bowling-alley is situated in the basement. 
The office, library-, parlors and committee rooms are on the 
second floor, while in the third story is a large, well lighted 
and pleasant hall, with stage fittings, for meetings, lectures and 
entertainments. Its cost, land and building, was $50,000. 

The architects were Messrs. Hartwell, Richardson & Driver. 

The Building Committee: Albert B. Franklin, chairman; 
Leonard S. Leighton. Royal P. Barry, Moses S. Page, William 
H. Flanders. George E. Gilchrist, William W. Mason and 
Trueworthy Norris. 

x\s to the building: it has been said to be " the best planned 
and built of any Y. M. C. Association building in this country 
for a city of our size." In proportion to the population its 
membership, now five hundred and fifty, is the largest in New 
England if not in the United States. The appointments of its 
gymnasium exceed those of many of the larger cities; and the 
building and work is approved most heartily by our citizens in 
general, without regard to church affiliations; "and it could 



YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. U^ 

not to-day be well spared as a constructive as well as a pre- 
ventive force in the young life of Melrose." 

"The religious work of the Association is the keystone of the 
entire structure, and is unsectarian. Young men of all faiths 
or religious views are admitted to membership." 

There is a physical department with a competent instructor; 
and, under the guidance of a General Secretary and board of 
officers, it has every facilit}' for educational opportunities, 
social advantages and spiritual privileges, for the benefit of 
our young men. Gospel services are held every Sunday after- 
noon both for boys and young men. 

Bible readings and training classes are held; also meetings 
for prayer and the study of the Sunday School lessons. In 
short every effort is made to throw around our young men 
every facility possible and every influence that shall elevate 
and benefit them morally, physically and spiritually. 

During the summer seasons, for many years past, open air 
meetings have been held in the grove at Pine Banks Park, 
under the auspices of the Association. Its first General 
Secretary was Charles S. Macfarland, who was appointed 
February 15, 1892, and served until January, 1893, when he 
resigned and entered the ministry. He was succeeded by 
Robert W. Matthews, who served until October, 1897, when 
he resigned to enter another field. He was succeeded by 
Bertram E. Lovejoy, who began his duties in March, 1898. 
He continued until April i, 1902, when he was succeeded by 
the present Secretary, Charles M. Brownell. 

The first President of the Association was the late Leonard 
S. Leighton, who served from the date of organization, Decem- 
ber 10, 1890, until May 9, 1896, and who gave much time and 
labor to the work in its early days ; and the effects of his 
arduous and continuous efforts in its behalf, will long be felt 
in the Association. He was succeeded by Albert B. Franklin, 
who for two years devoted his time and practical talents to its 
best interests. May 9, 1898, the present President, William A. 
Jepson, was elected. 

Very soon after the Association was founded, the Woman's 
Auxiliary was organized, September 23, 1891, with a charter 
membership of forty-five, Mrs. M. W. Lester, as first President. 
She was succeeded by Mrs. Albert B. F'ranklin, August 22, 
1892, who served until May, 1897, when she was succeeded by 



340 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Mrs. William H. Flanders, who acted for three years, when 
Mrs. W. DeHaven Jones was elected and served until the 
present President, Mrs. Mary E. Lovejoy, was elected. This 
Auxiliary Association has been of very great benefit to the 
general work of the Association. Under its management 
several very successful fairs have been held ; thus adding much 
needed funds to the treasury. One, the "Calendar Fair," held 
in City Hall, November 14-16, 1893, resulted in a net sum of 
$2,160. Another, the "Colonial Fair," held in their own rooms, 
soon after the dedication, April 2-4, 1895, raised $2,200. These 
proceeds were used for furnishing the new building. The 
committee in charge of the furnishings were : Franklin P. 
Shumway, Moses S. Page, George A. Manning, Mrs. Moses 
S. Page, Mrs. Albert B. Franklin and Mrs. Royal B. Leighton, 
Another, the "Auxiliary Fair," November 8-10, 1898, raised 
$1,200 for general expenses. Each year the Auxiliary Associa- 
tion gives $25, known as the " Helen F. Franklin Fund," to 
supply the Reading Room with the best magazines and 
periodicals. 

For a number of years there has been an organization among 
the members called the Young Men's Congress. It has its 
Speaker and other officers, and representatives for the different 
States. Its deliberations have given experience in parliamen- 
tary tactics, readiness in debate, and a wide-spread knowledge 
of questions of National, State, and local importance. 

The present officers of the Association are as follows: 
President, William A. Jepson; Vice Presidents, Moses S. Page 
and Charles H. Lang, Jr.; Treasurer, Don E. Curtis; Clerk^ 
Albert F. Henderson; General Secretary, Charles M. Brownell; 
Auditor, Charles A. Baker; Physical Director, William L. 
Kershaw; Medical Examiner, Roscoe D. Perley, M. D.; Direc- 
tors, George E. Briggs, Ernest L. Carr, Herbert M. Cox, 
William H. Flanders, Albert B. Franklin, Frank G. Kellogg, 
William A. Leonard, Bertram E. Lovejoy, Francis P. Luce, 
William W. Mason, John J. Rink and Franklin P. Shumway; 
Trustees, Albert B. Franklin, Moses S. Page and William H. 
Flanders. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE melrosp: hospital association. 

ON THE 28th of July, 1893, at the residence of Decius 
Beebe, on West Foster Street, the Melrose Hospital 
Association was organized, with forty-eight corporate 
members. This institution has already proven itself to be one 
of the most important yet inaugurated; one of very great 
benefit and usefulness to the community at large; one in 
which all the citizens of Melrose, high and low, rich and poor, 
have a general interest. Its object as stated in the By-Laws 
is as follows: 

The purpose for which the Association is constituted is to establish 
and maintain a hospital for the treatment and care of needy, sick and 
disabled persons of both sexes, and also of persons who may be able 
to pay for such treatment in whole or in part; such receipts to be 
used in the partial support of the Hospital. 

The following officers were then elected: Royal P. Barry, 
President; John W. P'arwell, Vice President; Mrs. S. Maria 
Barry, Clerk; Decius Beebe, Treasurer; Mrs. Kate E. Beebe, 
Mrs. Alice B. Dow, Mrs. Hannah E. Benson, Mrs. Ruby F. 
Farwell, Miss Mary L. Charles, Mrs. Ida F. Isburgh, Mrs. A. 
C. Marie Currier, Mrs. May E. Lang, Mrs. Harriet E. Page, 
Royal P. Barry, George L. Morse, John W. F"arwell, John O. 
Norris, B. Marvin Fernald, Moses S. Page, Victor C. Kirmes, 
Daniel Russell and Henry W. Sawyer, Trustees. Most of 
these same officers are now serving, having been re-elected 
October 22, 1901, for the ninth time. The exceptions are as 
follows: Francis W. Hunt in place of John O. Norris; Mrs. 
Charles C. Barry in place of Mrs. S. Maria Barry, Clerk; 
Samuel II. Hellcn and George R. Jones in place of Henry W. 
Sawyer, deceased, and Victor C. Kirmes. Nine of these officers 
form the executive committee of which George L. Morse is 
chairman. The Association consists of eighty-five members. 

In connection with the Association, the Hospital Guild was 



342 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

formed during the first year. The present list of its officers is 
as follows: President, Mrs. Nellie B. Sawyer; Honorary Presi- 
dent, Mrs. John W. Farwell; Vice Presidents, Mrs. George R. 
Jones, Mrs. Decius Beebe and Mrs. Charles H. Isburgh; Cor- 
responding Secretary, Mrs. Frank H. Brown; Recording 
Secretary, Miss Grace Fernald; Treasurer, Mrs. Jonathan C. 
Howes; Auditors, Mrs. Mary C. Houghton, Mrs. Charles H. 
Adams and Mrs. George E. Miller; and a board of forty-two 
directors. It has now nearly eight hundred members. 

Under the auspices of the Guild, fairs, lawn parties and 
other methods of raising money for this most worthy object 
are directed. Thus far two very successful fairs have been 
held in City Hall; one, designated as "The Rainbow Fair," 
netting the sum of ;?54,523.38; another, "The Lantern Fete," 
1^6,323.22. 

Each }'ear the third Sunday in May is set apart in all the 
churches as Hospital Sunday and special contributions are taken 
for the benefit of the Hospital. These contributions have 
been as follows; in 1894, 1^205.40; 1895, ^IQO-SS; 1896, $272.73; 
1897, $293.32; 1898, $350.35; 1899, $298.86; 1900, $616.73; 1901, 
$320.73; 1902, $291.20; a total of $2,900.67. 

Several lawn parties have been held on the spacious grounds 
of Moses S. Page, each one realizing a considerable sum for 
the Hospital coffers; the one for June, 1901, realized $342.32. 
Through the instrumentality of Mrs. Georgianna N. Bordman, 
two performances of her unique and original operetta, " The 
Market Day," were given in City Hall, which netted a hand- 
some sum for the same object. 

For some years past the Town, and now the City has 
appropriated the sum of $1,000 toward the current expenses of 
the Hospital. The total expenses for the year from October 
1900 to October 1901, were $9,506.58 ; the income from all 
sources has been insufficient thus far for current expenses; thus 
leaving a deficiency each year, which has to be met by 
subscriptions, fairs, or other outside methods. 

Each year an annual report is issued in pamphlet form, con- 
taining the addresses of the Presidents, Hospital and Guild, and 
reports of the Secretaries and Treasurers of both organizations. 
It has also names of members of both, lists of donations, and 
various other matters pertaining to the Hospital and its work. 

In connection with the regular hospital work, classes for the 



THE MELROSE HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION. 



;U3 



training of nurses are regularl\- held, in which studies are 
pursued, lectures by our city's physicians given, and a thorough 
knowledge of hospital duties acquired ; a class graduating each 
year. Of these nurses thus trained, the late Mrs. S. Maria 
Barry, then the Secretary, said in her second annual report : 

Many homes have been cheered and helped by their presence in 
times of sickness and death, and we have received many proofs of the 
good which they have accomplished, and also of the value of the 
institution which they represent. 

With the passage of time, and the lapse of several more 
years, these beneficial results have been greatly augmented. 
The Hospital was first established at No. 39 Oakland Street. 




TlIK Ml.l.kOSl-; U()S1'1T.\I,. 

The house was soon found to be inadequate to llu- tUinands. 
After a two years' occupancy, the homestead of the late 
William Bailey, on Myrtle Street, was purchased for the 
sum of S6,000, George Ilart kindl}- taking a mortgage on the 
same for $5,000. It was inimediatt;ly altered, arranged and 
fitted up with most excellent accommodations, and the Hospi- 
tal removed to these more spacious quarters. 

During this same year, 1894, the Association purchasctl a 
lot of laiul on the corner of Lebanon and Portc-r Streets, con- 



344 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

taining 70,000 feet, for the sum of $6,948.40, on which a mortgage 
was at first placed, but which has since been paid off, by means 
of generous subscriptions from man}' of our citizens; among 
them may be mentioned one of $2,000 from the late Mrs. 
Harriet A. Bigelow, who ever evinced the warmest interest in 
the success of the Hospital. In her will she left a bequest of 
$5,000 which was received in 1898. On this land it is hoped 
and expected that a Hospital Building may be erected in the 
near future, that shall be large enough to meet the wants and 
demands of Melrose for this purpose, for many years to come. 
The Hospital Building Fund now amounts to $9,696.83. To 
give some idea of the great amount of work done, year by 
year, the following statistics are gi\'en, taken from the annual 
report for 1900: 

Two hundred and thirty-eight patients have been treated; one 
hundred and forty-eight surgical, fifty-four medical, eighteen obstetrical, 
and eighteen children born. Of this number one hundred and fifteen 
have paid full rates, twenty-two have paid partial rates, fifty-one city 
patients and fifty were free. The smallest number in the Hospital 
during twenty-four hours was five ; the largest number eighteen. The 
nativity of the patients admitted during the year is as follows : United 
States, 183; Canada, 23; Ireland, 14; England, 6; Germany, 3; 
Italy, I ; Greece, i ; Scotland, 1 ; Russia, 2 ; Bavaria, i ; Holland, i ; 
Sweden, i ; and Turkey, i ; total, 23S. 

The figures for 1901 vary but little from those of 1900, the 
total number of patients treated being 235. 

A free bed fund has been established and the sum now 
amounts, by accumulation year by year, to $1,412.82. 

The Nurses' Home. This much needed and very necessary 
adjunct to a well-equipped Hospital, has been added to this 
admirable and well managed institution. The property at the 
corner of West Foster and Myrtle Streets adjoining the Hospi- 
tal grounds, has been leased, and furnished in a complete 
manner for a nurses' home. This was the home for man)' 
years of the late Mr. and Mrs. Andrew W. Haskell. It now 
belongs to the Hon. John Larrabee, who has put the house in 
the most thorough repair. It has received money and furniture 
from our citizens sufificient to give it every convenience, and 
to malce of it a most delightful home for these workers for the 
sick and suffering. 

Of the Hospital and the Y. M. C. A. work. President Barry 
spoke as follows in his eighth annual address : 



THE MELROSE HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION. 345 

A city is generally famous by the measure of its good works. We 
n Melrose cannot hope to be known as the richest suburb of Boston, 
nor can we be noted as Cambridge is noted, but there are certain 
institutions which tend to make it notable among the smaller cities of 
our Commonwealth. Among them is the Young Men's Christian 
Association and the Melrose Hospital. They deserve, and are en- 
titled to, the heartiest support of every good citizen, and as the years 
go by it will be found that in such measure as similar institutions 
flourish and grow, in just such measure will the city command respect 
as the home of good, sturdy, middle-class men, who can spare time 
from their business pursuits to take some interest in the well-being of 
their neighbors. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

THE inception and early history of the Melrose Public 
Library cannot be better told than by the following 
extract from the first annual report of the Trustees of 
that institution: 

As the formation of a Public Library is an event of great importance, 
we desire to place upon record the few facts connected with its early 
history. Several years ago some of the leading men of the town 
issued a call for a meeting, to be held in the Selectmen's room, 
Lyceum Hall, for the purpose of establishing a Public Library. A 
subscription paper was circulated, and received some names, but no 
further action was ever taken. The next public announcement appears 
in the warrant for the last annual town meeting, and the credit for 
bringing forward the plan, which has been adopted, belongs to David 
Fairbanks, Esq. We are glad also to acknowledge that his action in 
this matter did not stop here, as he seconded the same by a liberal 
donation of books, the number of which appears in our annexed list. 
While the credit of this action belongs to the gentleman named, the 
action of the Franklin Fraternity taken almost simultaneously, deserves 
equal commendation. Upon two occasions the project of a PubUc 
Library has been pressed upon the attention of this Association ; the 
last occasion being only one month before this town meeting at which 
the vote was taken. At their next regular meeting, held only two 
weeks before the Town Meeting, the project was again brought for- 
ward, and amid much enthusiasm a committee was appointed, and 
money subscribed, to form the nucleus of a Library, and when of 
reasonable size present the same to the town. Between this meeting 
and the meeting in April, the warrant appeared with its announce- 
ment, and the action of the town was taken. As soon as this action 
was known, the plans of the " Fraternity" were altered in accordance 
with the situation, and nearly two hundred dollars were placed in the 
hands of the committee as their donation. The selection was limited 
to American authors, and one hundred and twenty-five volumes, com- 
prising the works of Irving, Hawthorne, Motley, Bancroft, Lossing, 
Parton, Mitchell, Taylor, etc., were presented to the town as the basis 
of a Public Library. 



PUBLIC LIBRARY. 347 

The action of the Town referred to took place March 27, 
1871, at a meeting held in Concert Hall, when the following 
vote was passed : 

That the money now in the Treasury, refunded to the town by the 
County Treasurer, pursuant to Chapter 250 of the Acts of the Legisla- 
ture in 1869, and all that shall hereafter accrue to the town under said 
act, be appropriated for a " Public Library and Reading Room." 
That a committee of three be chosen at this meeting, who shall be 
called " The Trustees of the Melrose Public Library;" that they be 
invested with full power to provide and fit up a suitable place therefor, 
prepare rules and regulations, purchase books, solicit donations, and 
have the general management thereof, during the year, to the next 
annual meeting, then to make a full report of their doings. 

Frederic Kidder, Elbridge H. Goss and Charles C. Barry 
were elected Trustees, and they organized as follows : Mr. 
Kidder, Chairman, Mr. Goss, Treasurer, and Mr. Barry, 
Secretary. The money then in the Treasury was known as 
the " dog tax," and the amount on hand at that time with which 
to buy books and found the Library was $624.85. With this 
amount, with donations, and with the gift of the Franklin 
Fraternity, the Trustees were enabled to report at the end of 
the 3'ear, a Library containing 1,504 volumes; of which 839 
were purchased and 665 donated. A copy of the Holy Bible, 
printed in 1826, was volume number one in our Library ; when 
the present system of classifying the books was adopted in 
1897, 't became number 601. i. 

A room in Waverley Block, Essex Street was at this time 
being used temporarily by the Selectmen, Daniel Russell, 
James C. Currier and John H. Clark. By the courtesy and 
considerateness of this Board, the room was divided by a parti- 
tion, and the rear half assigned for the Library's use. Here, 
in these narrow quarters commenced the career of the Melrose 
Public Library. The Trustees, aided by a number of volun- 
teers, covered the books — a system since discarded — and 
prepared them for circulation. They also served as Librarians 
until the following March, during which time several of the 
young men from the High School assisted in the delivery of 
books. During the next year, March, 1872 to March, 1873, 
C. Edward Prior acted as Librarian, being assisted meantime 
by Frank M. Edwards, George A. Wilde, Frank D. Wilde and 
George T. Gately. In March, 1873, Miss Carrie M. Worthen was 



348 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

cho*en Librarian, who has filled that position ever since with 
ability and constant fidelity. For a number of years Miss 
Rosa INI. Gibbons was the assistant Librarian; she is now con- 
nected with the Maiden Public Library. The present assistant 
is Miss Mary Ella Dix. 

During the first year seven hundred and eleven persons 
availed themselves of the Library privileges. From that day 
to this the Town and City has regularly appropriated the 
" dog tax " together with an additional appropriation, begin- 
ning with one of ^650 in 1872, and gradually increasing it until 
it became $3,000 in 1900; but in 1902 it was reduced to $2,500. 
The Library remained in its first quarters until the Town Hall 
was built in 1874, when it occupied the northeast corner room, 
where it remained until April i, 1895. ^^ then removed to its 
present quarters in the Young Men's Christian Association 
Building, which were taken upon a five years' lease. 

Although the original vote passed in 1871, was to establish 
a "public library and reading-room," this important adjunct 
was not opened until fourteen years later, December 16, 1885. 
This was then established in the middle room on the east side, 
just across the aisle from the Library room ; since which time 
it has become a very important and necessary addition. 

In 1873, two additional members were added to the Trustees, 
Miss Addie A. Nichols and Miss Hannah Lynde. These five 
Trustees were regularly elected until the year 1884, when the 
Chairman, Mr Kidder, being in ill health, resigned, and Mr. 
Goss was elected Chairman. Thomas B. Peck was elected to 
fill the vacancy. Miss Nichols, resigning. Miss Phebe Norris, 
now Mrs. Benneson took her place, but resigned shortly after 
to make her residence in the west, and Mrs. Ruby F. Farwell 
was elected to fill the vacancy. In 1887, Mr. Peck and Miss 
Lynde resigned, and Charles A. Patch and Miss Mary L. 
Charles were elected to fill the vacancies. In 1891 the Board 
was increased to six members and George E. Munroe was 
added. 

The system of election was changed in 1893, so that the 
office of two members should expire each year, and two be 
elected annually for three years. No change took place in the 
personnel of the board until the city was incorporated when Neil 
A. Divver and Mrs. Maria L. Chapin were appointed by Mayor 
Gould, in place of George E. Munroe, and Miss Mary L 



PUBLIC LIBRARY. 34» 

Charles. When the Chairman, Mr. Goss, was elected an alder- 
man for 1901, it became necessary for him to resign after a 
service of thirty years, as the charter forbade an alderman to 
hold two offices, and Edward M. Munyan was appointed to fill 
the vacancy. In February, 1901, Mrs. Farwell resigned, and 
Miss Mary L. Charles was appointed to fill her place. The 
Board of Trustees as now constituted, 1902, is as follows : 
Charles A. Patch, Treasurer, and Miss Mary L. Charles, three 
years; Neil A. Divver and Mrs. Maria A. Chapin, Secretary^ 
two years, and Charles C. Barry, Chairman, and Edward M. 
Munyan, one year. Mr. Barry has served as Secretary during 
sixteen years in the history of the Library, Mrs. Farwell two 
years, Miss Charles five years, and Mr. Munroe served seven 
years until 1900, when Mrs. Maria L. Chapin was elected to- 
that position, which she now holds. Mr. Goss served as Treas- 
urer from its establishment in 1871, until elected Chairman in 
1884, when Mr. Patch was elected in his place, and he still 
holds that position. 

The Library has received several valuable donations. Besides 
the 125 volumes given as a nucleus, by the Franklin Fraternity^ 
and nearly one thousand Congressional volumes which cover 
the War and Reconstruction periods of our country's history, 
by Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, many other citizens have given 
one or more volumes at different times. Among other gifts 
are these: An engraving, "The Senate of the U. S. of the 
time of Henry Clay," by Mrs. Charlotte Cochran; a hand- 
some Howard clock, " Presented to the Melrose Public Library 
by the children of the Mother Goose Club, January 20, 1886," 
from the proceeds of an entertainment given by this Club, 
under the direction of Mrs. Georgianna N. Bordman; a bust 
of Hon. Samuel E. Sewall, by Mrs. Mary A. Livermore; an oil 
painting, by Pearson of the " Lynde Farm House," corner of 
Main Street and Goodyear Avenue, by George Emerson; two 
very large photographs of the " Roman Forum," and the 
"Colosseum," by Mr. and Mrs. Edward K. Bordman; an old 
fashioned chair, by Miss Sarah Chever, of the old "Ezra 
Vinton House," at the Highlands, and two valuable remem- 
brances; one, the portrait of the late Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, 
given by Mrs. Gooch and her son William W. Gooch; the 
other, a replica of Anne Whitney's bust of Mrs. Mary Ashton 
Livermore, given by her husband, the late Rev. Daniel P. 
Livermore. 



350 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The Library has also received several bequests: The first is 
known as the " Horatio Nelson Perkins Fund," which was given 
by the executors of Mr. Perkins' will, in accordance with a 
pencilled memorandum found among his papers, which read 
as follows: 

$500 — to the Melrose Public Library, etc., in trust, and the annual 
income of the same is to be expended for the purchase of books 
forever. 

This was in 1883. I^i 1888 another gift of ^lOO known as 
the " William Emerson Barrett Fund," is devoted to books 
bearing upon building, furnishing and decorating homes. In 
1895, William Bailey left in his will a bequest to the Library 
which has amounted to ^2,500; this is known as the "William 
Bailey Fund," and only its income can be expended for books. 

The number of volumes in the Library January i, 1902, was 
14,012, besides the thousand or more Congressional volumes 
not yet catalogued, and 2,056 pamphlets. The number of cards 
issued to persons using the Library, 7,257. Largest number of 
books taken out in one month, 6,618, total for the year 1901, 
60,814. The number of persons using the reading room in 
1901 was 29,038. 

The following table gives, for the different years since the 
Library was established, the annual appropriation, the number 
of volumes purchased annually, the number donated and the 
annual circulation: 

Volumes Volumes 
Year. Appropriatiou. Dog Tax. Purchased. Donated. Circulation. 

1871 *$937.16 839 665 t3,189 

1872 $650.00 308.02 431 41 13,240 

1873 550.00 238 17 14,004 

1874 800.0) 324.87 270 94 17,650 

1875 500.00 367.08 187 53 22,592 

1876 450.00 460.80 351 72 23,703 

1877 400.00 448.75 390 24 27,152 

1878 400.00 437.47 295 3 J25,458 

1879 200.00 419.24 176 5 30,940 

1880 500.00 392.16 357 17 29,764 

1881 500.00 401.58 297 10 28,983 

1882 500.00 393.98 314 6 28,074 

1883 800.00 451.98 342 33 28,258 

1884 500.00 509.83 396 25 29,447 

1885 • • •■ 750.00 573.85 583 71 30,663 

* Three years. , t Two mouths. X Ten months. 



PUBLIC LIBRARY. H51 

Volumes Volumes 
Year. Appropriation. Dog Tax. Purchased. Donated. Circulation. 

1886. 51750.00 $698.40 404 36 28,952 

1887 T.JO.OO 774.90 375 27 31,336 

1888 750.00 961.78 406 9 32,986 

1889 7.50.00 1,090.96 369 10 33,052 

1890 7.50.00 1,194.91 510 14 30,534 

189] 1,000.00 1,079.65 408 47 31,425 

1892 1,000.00 1,087.22 539 16 34,093 

1893 1,200.00 1,046.22 459 5 32,157 

1894 1,000.00 1,076.49 411 12 41,208 

1895 3,.500.00 1,052.24 480 13 36,276 

1896 2,500.00 1,066.09 493 19 44,062 

1897 2,(500.00 1,039.68 301 22 38,674 

1898 2,600.00 1,031.23 467 20 55,838 

1899 2,800.00 958.93 381 24 61,945 

190(1 2,800.00 1,016.51 487 27 60,001 

1901 3,000.00 1,033.60 644 18 60,814 

The new rooms in the Young Men's Christian Association 
were furnished and opened during the year 1895; this with the 
annual rent, $1,200 per annum, accounts for the large increase 
in appropriation. When the first five years expired, April i, 
1901, the rent was reduced from Si,200 to $1,000 per annum. 
A new lease was taken with a clause inserted giving the 
Trustees the right to terminate it upon giving a six months' 
notice. This was done because of the fact that the Library 
was fast outgrowing its present accommodations, and because 
of the hope that by some action of the City, or of some one of 
our citizens, steps might be taken to provide a Library building. 

Melrose had been waiting long for some one of its wealthy 
citizens, to whom appeal after appeal had been made, to give 
it a Library building; or, to have the City itself take action in 
the matter ; but it waited in vain. When the Hon. Andrew 
Carnegie began to distribute his immense wealth by donating 
Library buildings to different cities and towns throughout the 
Union, and to found educational institutions at home and 
abroad, it occurred to a number of our citizens, realizing that 
the future might not be any more favorable than the past, in 
fulfilment of its wishes, that possibly Mr. Carnegie might be 
induced to consider our own City with favor ; and he was 
written to upon the subject by quite a number. Among these 
writers was Mayor John Larrabee ; and, after a considerable 
correspondence, he had the very great satisfaction of announc- 
ing in his second inaugural address, delivered January 6, 1902, 
a gift from Mr. Carnegie in the following letter: 



352 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Mayor Larrabee, Melrose, Mass. 

Dear Sir: Responding to your letter: If the City of Melrose will 
pledge itself by Resolution of Councils to support Free Library at 
cost of not less than Twenty-five hundred dollars a year, and provide 
a suitable site, Mr. Carnegie will be glad to furnish Twenty-five 
thousand dollars for a Free Library Building. 

Respectfully yours, 

Dec. 31, 1901. Jas. Bertram, Private Secretary. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen held the same day, 
William A. Carrie, Oliver B. Munroe, Aaron Hill, Jr., Albert 
B. Franklin and Edward S. Page were appointed a committee 
" to suitably acknowledge the generous gift of Andrew 
Carnegie, Esq., and made such recommendations as may seem 
best;" and at a meeting of the Board, January 20, the following 
resolutions were submitted by that committee and passed 
unanimously: 

Whereas, The City of Melrose, through His Honor the Mayor has 
been tendered the sum of $25,000 by Andrew Carnegie, Esq., of New 
York, for a free library building, upon condition that the city of 
Melrose, through its board of aldermen, agrees to appropriate the sum 
of $2,500 annually in support of the same and provide a suitable 
building site : 

Resolved, That the Board of Aldermen of the city of Melrose 
hereby accepts the generous offer of Mr. Carnegie and agrees to the 
conditions named therein. 

Resolved, That His Honor the Mayor be requested to convey to 
Mr. Carnegie the hearty thanks and appreciation of the citizens of 
Melrose for his large-hearted liberality in providing means to build a 
suitable building for free library purposes. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, February ii, it was 
voted to erect the new Library building on the old " High 
School Lot," so called, situated on the corner of West Emerson 
Street and Lake Avenue. This was the spot selected by the 
Committee who built the High School building in 1870, as 
being centrally located, and as accommodating the scholars 
from all parts of the town better than any other site then 
available. That was central then, and is so now; being within 
a very few rods of the residential centre of Melrose. It is 
situated on a handsome, quiet street, surrounded by beautiful 
residences, halfway between steam and electric railroads, away 
from the din and turmoil of traffic and travel. It contains 
30,375 square feet 



PUBLIC LIBRARY. 353 

At this same meeting the Mayor was authorized to transmit 
to Mr. Carnegie a certified copy of the deed of this land now 
adopted as the site for the Mehose Public Library. 

At the next meeting of the Board, February 17, the Mayor 
vetoed the above action, on the ground that it was a question 
which ought not to be settled until after a public hearing had 
been held; and his veto was sustained, six aldermen voting 
for and twelve against, not two-thirds as required to pass over 
a veto. In accordance with this action it was voted to hold a 
public hearing on the evening of March 18. This was accord- 
ingly held in the City Hall, John G. Robinson presiding. The 
subject of site was very thoroughl\' discussed by the following 
gentlemen: those in favor of the High School lot being, 
George R. Jones, Charles H. Adams, Royal P. Barry, Charles 
C. Barry, Elbridge H. Goss and Daniel J. Lucey; those against, 
Edwin S. Small and John J. McCullough. The sentiment of 
the large audience present was largely in favor of the above 
site and it was so expressed by vote. 

At the following meeting of the Board of Aldermen, March 
27, the question was finally settled in favor of the Emerson 
Street lot by a vote of twenty to one. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the city charter is very explicit, 
denying the right of the Board of Aldermen to act on any 
committee wherein the expenditure of money for the city is 
concerned, the question had arisen in the Board as to who 
should build the new Public Library ; should it be by a com- 
mittee appointed from the Board of Aldermen, or by the 
Mayor, with an advisory committee selected from the citizens 
outside the Board. Some thought one way, some another ; 
this arose from a misunderstanding as to just how the money 
was to be paid by Mr. Carnegie; whether as a whole to the 
City, or in part, to a committee, as the work progressed. Cor- 
respondence between the Mayor and Mr. Carnegie developed 
the fact that all money would be sent direct to the City. 

Meanwhile the opinion of the City Solicitor had been 
requested on the subject by the Board. This was submitted at 
the meeting held April 28, and was very explicit; showing 
conclusively that no committee of the Board of Aldermen 
could serve on said committee. The following vote was then 
passed unanimously : 

In Board of Aldermen, April 28, 1902. 
Be it ordered, that a public library building be erected on the old 



354 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

High School lot, so called, on Emerson Street, that the Mayor be 
authorized to contract for the same at a cost not to exceed Twenty- 
five thousand ($25,000) dollars, and that the City Treasurer be and 
hereby is authorized to pay all sums of money which may be presented 
or paid to the city, either directly or to its Mayor, Treasurer, or other 
public officer, by Andrew Carnegie, or any other person or persons, 
for the purpose of constructing said public library building, to be paid 
out on account of the contract to build it, by the City Treasurer from 
time to time as received and requested. 

John G. Robinson, 

President of the Board of Aldermen. 
April 28, 1902. In Board of Aldermen. Order ordained. 

W. DeHaven Jones, Clerk, 
April 30, 1902. Approved. John Larrabee, Mayor. 

The Mayor at once took action in the matter by appointing 
an advisory committee of ten to act in conjunction with him- 
self in the erection of the new building. In his letter of 
notification under date of May 5, he says: 

I am authorized, by vote of the Board of Aldermen, to enter into a 
contract for the erection of a public library building. 

You are respectfully and cordially invited to serve on an advisory 
committee to assist me in the selection of a plan for the building, the 
awarding of the contract, etc. 

The gentlemen selected by the Mayor were as follows: 
Chester Shepard, ward one; Clinton White and Stephen F. 
Keyes, ward two; Elbridge H. Goss, ward three; Charles C. 
Barry and Charles H. Adams, ward four; Levi S. Gould and 
Edwin S. Small, ward five; Peter J. Lynch, ward six; William 
E. C. Goudey, ward seven. 

The first meeting of this Committee took place June 16, 
1902, when it was organized as follows: His Honor John 
Larrabee, Mayor, Chairman; Elbridge H. Goss, Secretary. 

The Mayor has full power given him by vote of the Board 
of Aldermen, to make a contract and build the new Library 
Building; but he preferred to call in the aid of an Advisory 
Committee, as above, in the selection of a design for the 
same. With such advice and experience as this Committee 
may be enabled to give him, a new Public Library Building 
is to be erected on the lot situated on the corner of West 
Emerson Street and Lake Avenue, from the ;^25,ooo gift of the 
Hon. Andrew Carnegie. 



CHAPTER XX. 

LITERARY CLUBS AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

MELROSE has a number of literary clubs. The oldest 
one is the Franklin Fraternity, which was organized 
F"ebruary 20, 1863, by the following five members of the 
Melrose High School ; Henry R. Pearson, Charles G. Brooks, 
William C. Poland, Charles H. Poland and C. Edgar Buffum. 
The object was "for the purpose of inaugurating among the 
youth of Melrose, a Lyceum, or Society for mental improve- 
ment, especially in the branches of recitation and composition." 
To these graduates others were added soon after, and the 
years immediately following, until their members numbered 
twenty-five or thirty ; there being twenty-eight members at 
the present time. The Club held monthly meetings until 1875, 
when semi-annual meetings — the "Fish Fry," and "Anni- 
versary Supper" — were substituted. At the present time it 
holds only annual meetings ; at which time there is delivered 
an oration and a poem ; together with a banquet with toast- 
master and speeches. For a number of years an annual paper, 
called the " Bull Frog " was read, consisting of essays, papers, 
poems and quips contributed by its members. Sons of the 
members are now admitted to membership. 

Just before the Public Library was founded in 1870, the 
" Fraternity " was considering the project of forming a library 
with the purpose of eventually giving the same to the Town; 
but when that library was established the society immediately 
turned over to it the $200 already raised, and with that amount 
the first one hundred and twenty-five volumes of standard 
works were purchased. 

Again in 1883, this Association showed its ever watchful 
interest in the welfare and prosperity of the youth of Melrose, 
by inaugurating a system of annual prizes for the scholars of 
the High School, for proficiency in English Literature and 
Mathematics, consisting of works of standard value; and each 



356 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

year these half dozen prizes are given at the graduating exer- 
cises. These well earned honors are highly prized by the 
recipients, and the presentation has proved to be a very inter- 
esting and beneficial feature of each recurring year. 

In a sketch of the Fraternity written in 1889, by Sidney H. 
Buttrick, and published in the Melrose Journal, he says: 

The pleasure, instruction and moral strength, which the members of 
the Fraternity have received from this association, cannot be measured 
by mere words. To many of us, the influence of the Fraternity has 
surrounded our lives and actions for nearly a quarter of a century, and 
our aim at present — as we have arrived safely to years of maturity, 
feeling how much we owe to the spirit of the Fraternity, which our 
motto, Una Operamus, "We labor together," exemplifies — is to en- 
courage the generations following us to emulate our example and 
continue the good work, so ably and conscientiously commenced 
twenty-five years ago. 

At each annual meeting the Fraternity chooses officers for 
the year ensuing as follows: President, Vice President, Secre- 
tary, Treasurer, Orator, Alternate, Poet and Odist. 

The Melrose Shakespeare Club was organized in January, 
1873. Its members are women, twenty-five in number. It 
meets monthly for the study of not only Shakespeare and 
other British poets, but American poets also. Its officers are 
a President, Secretary and Treasurer. 

Melrose Woman's Club. This organization of two hundred 
and fifty members, was founded April 19, 1882, federated May, 
1890, and admitted to the Massachusetts State Federation of 
Women's Clubs in 1895. Article II, of its Constitution and 
By-Laws states: "The object of this club is the moral, intel- 
lectual, physical and social development of women." 

From October to May every season, the Club holds two 
meetings each month with entertainments arranged by the 
various committees: Art and Literature, Ethics and Economics, 
Science and Education, and History and Current Topics. 
There is a Business Committee, Committee on Music, Social 
Committee, P'inance Committee and Press Correspondent. It 
chooses annually a President, two Vice Presidents, Recording 
Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer and six Direc- 
tors. 

The Melrose Highlands Woman's Club. This Club was 
organized October 12, 1898. Its object, as stated in its consti- 



LITERARY CLUBS AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 357 

tution, is "to promote ethical, social and intellectual culture." 
At its organization it had 176 charter members. It now has 
225 members, its limited number, and has four persons on the 
waiting list. The Club meets on the second and fourth Wed- 
nesdays of each month from October to April inclusive. At 
its meetings various papers, discussions, and entertainments, 
literary and musical, are enjoyed, as introduced under the 
direction of the committees of the four departments : Art 
and Literature, History and Travel, Education and Domestic 
Science, and Current Events. There are also, Membership, 
Music, Social, and Finance committees. Its officers, chosen 
annually, are as follows: President, two Vice Presidents, 
Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, 
Auditor, Press Correspondent, and six Directors. These offi- 
cers, together with the chairman of each of the four depart- 
ments, constitute the Executive Board. 

The meeting held March 8, 1899, was devoted to the 
reading of the Club Magazine, Le Fin de Siecle, consisting 
of original articles written by members. These were after- 
wards published by the Club as a magazine of sixteen pages, 
with Mrs. Alice I. Calkins and Miss Edith S. Genu as editors. 

The Melrose Education Society, an organization com- 
posed mainly of teachers in our schools, although others 
interested in educational work can join, was formed in 1896. 
It was 

established to promote a broader knowledge of the science of educa- 
tion, a better understanding of methods now employed, and a close 
sympathy and cooperation between the home and the school. 

Under its auspices many scientific and educational lectures 
have been given; not only by our own teachers, but by 
eminent educators from abroad. It is officered by a Presi- 
dent, Secretary and Treasurer. 

A number of other literary clubs have existed in the past, 
now disbanded, which have had a beneficial and educational 
influence in the community. Earliest among these may 
be mentioned the " L. P. & F. Literary Associates," organ- 
ized about 1857, by members of the " Crystal Lake Division 
Sons of Temperance," a secret total abstinence society then 
existant here, and the motto of which was " Love, Purity and 
F'idelitv. 



358 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Roundabout Club. Foremost among these by-gone clubs 
was the Roundabout Club, which was organized February 13, 
1873. This was originally formed from members of the 
Unitarian Society; but soon afterwards enlarged its sphere, 
and became a non-sectarian organization. Its aim as em- 
bodied in Art. II of the Constitution was as follows: 

The object of this Association shall be the development and culti- 
vation of the intellectual and aesthetical powers of its members by 
such means as the broad field of literature affords, by music, art in 
general and social intercourse. It shall be the special effort of the 
members to present original productions, or any matter of interest 
coming within their experience by personal observation or otherwise, 
and to strive in every way to give character to the club as an educa- 
tional institution. 

The membership was limited to one hundred. The last 
meeting of the Club was held April 16, 1891. During its 
existence an annual "Budget" was issued in MSS., consist- 
ing of contributions by members of the Club, each volume 
being bound in covers artistically decorated with unique 
designs by the lady members. These volumes have been 
deposited in the Melrose Public Library. Some of these 
papers have been published in the Melrose jfotinial. 

On the 22nd of April, 1897, ^ reunion of former members 
took place at the Unitarian Chapel, on which occasion a 
banquet was enjoyed, with speeches, and an interesting his- 
torical reminicial address given by George H. Dearborn. 
The following extracts give the names of the Presidents, 
and indicate the scope of the work of the Club while in 
existence: 

Its first President was Rev. Daniel M. Wilson, who faithfully served 
for three terms and he was followed by Col. Samuel Harrington, Col. 
Samuel Adams Drake, Messrs. Royal P. Barry, John W. Farwell, 
George H. Dearborn, Elbridge H. Goss, Louis E. K. Robson, Dexter 
F. Munroe and Alonzo G. Whitman. Our invitations tonight state 
that this is the 240th meeting of the club but special meetings and 
gatherings carry these numbers beyond 250. That the spirit of 
Article II of the Constitution was fully carried out is shown by the fact 
that at these meetings there have been delivered 1 09 lectures, essays 
or talks, as you can term them, upon subjects I have classified as 
follows: biographical, thirty-three ; historical, nineteen; scientific, nine- 
teen ; art, seven ; miscellaneous, thirty-one. Of these essayists Brother 
Norris leads with a record of eleven. Colonel Drake gave ten, Major 



LITERARY CLUBS AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. :i:)9 

Ranlet six, Brothers Feck, Whitman and WilUams six each. Brother 
Dearborn five, Brother Robson, Rev. N. Seaver, Jr., and Sister Liver- 
more four each, Brother Goss and Rev. Mr. Heywood three each, and 
"there are others," many others who have contributed for the benefit 
and pleasure of the ckib in this direction. 

There have also been held fifty-five dramatic evenings and fifteen 
purely literary evenings although music in some form composed a part 
of many of our meetings. ... In these few moments allotted me I 
have time to speak of but few of the many occasions which served 
to bring many of the club members together and which were so thor- 
oughly enjoyed. Prominent among these were our nine Field Days 
which were observed on the holidays of June 17, commencing with 
that of 1876, held at Maolis Gardens, Nahant, and the final one being 
held in 1885, at Manchester-by-the-Sea. 

The Unity Club was formed not long after the Roundabout 
Club ceased to exist, by members of the Unitarian Parish. 
This is a literary, dramatic and musical organization, holding 
monthly meetings in its chapel, at which light comedy plays, 
literary exercises and musicales are given. It is officered by a 
President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. 

The Centennial Club, organized in 1876, with its sixty or 
seventy members, was founded on a similar basis as the Round- 
about Club, held its semi-monthly meetings, at which papers 
on various subjects, were read by its members and entertain- 
ments given. After a life of about fifteen years it ceased to 
exist at about the same time as did the Roundabout. 

The Avon Club, organized at about the same time as the 
Centennial, was composed of a younger class of members, some 
forty in number. Its meetings were partly literary and partly 
for social amusements. It existed nine or ten years. 

The Melrose Lyceum. The Melrose L\xcum has had an 
intermittant life. It was first inaugurated in 1865, by the late 
Dr. William Frederick Poole as chairman of the committee, 
and was sustained for four or five years, during which time 
such lecturers as George William Curtis, Wendell Phillips, Dr. 
Josiah G. Holland, and William Lloyd Garrison were engaged, 
and there were concerts by the Mendelssohn Quintette Club, 
and readings by Prof. j. Wesley Churchill. Among others 
that served on the committee were Thomas W. Chadbourne, 
George Emerson, Andrew H. Briggs, Charles H. Isburgh, 
George N. Noyes and Dexter Bryant. 



360 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

In 1874, after the new Town Hall had been built, the 
Lyceum was again established, and became a very popular 
institution. It was sustained for twenty -one consecutive 
years, during which time the following citizens served on 
the Committee: 

George F. Stone, 1874-5; Chairman same. Charles C. Barry, 
1874-88; Secretary, 1874-87. Elbridge H. Goss, 1874-95; 
Treasurer same. W. Irving Ellis, 1874-79. J. Lyman Ran- 
dall, 1874. Joseph R. Simonds, 1874-76. William T. Jones, 
1874-79. George H. Dearborn, 1874-95. George Emerson, 
1874-78; Chairman 1876-77. Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, 1876- 
80. John Larrabee, 1876-90. J. Augustus Barrett, 1879-95. 
Samuel Adams Drake, 1878; Chairman 1878. John W. Farwell, 
1876-93; Chairman 1879-93. Allen C. Goss, 1879-92. George 
E. Carr, 1879-83. Thomas W. Ripley, 1880-92. James G. 
Bowden, 1883-95; Secretary 1887-95. Royal P. Barry, 1888- 
94; Chairman 1894. Charles H. Lang, Jr., 1893-95. William 
W. Keays, 1893-95. D. Webster Dow, 1893. Sidney H. 
Buttrick, 1893. William E. Barrett, 1895; Chairman 1895. 
Frank L. Washburn, 1894-5. Charles H. Adams, 1894-5, 
and W. DeHaven Jones, 1894-5. 

Each course consisted of ten or more entertainments. Dur- 
ing this time many of the highest cost entertainments were 
given, among them the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, Remenyi 
Concert Co., Bernhard Listemann Concert Party, Royal Hand 
Bell Ringers, Germania Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orches- 
tra, New York Philharmonic Club, Marie Decca Grand Con- 
cert Co., and Oratorios by the Salem Oratorio Society and 
the Melrose Musical Society. For lecturers, Henry Ward 
Beecher, Charles Bradlaugh, John B. Gough, Mrs. Mary A. 
Livermore, Wendell Phillips, Rev. Edwin C. Bolles, D. D., 
Rev. Edwin H. Chapin, D. D., Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, John 
L. Stoddard, Gen, Joshua L. Chamberlain, Archibald Forbes, 
Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D., Rev. Robert Collyer, D. D., 
Go\'. John D. Long, Miss Kate Field, Gen. Lew. Wallace, 
William H. H. Murray, Max O'Rell, Miss Amelia B. Edwards, 
Dr. George C. Lorrimer, and many others. For readers. 
Prof. J. Wesley Churchill, Wyzeman Marshall, Miss Helen 
Potter, George Riddle, Samuel L. Clemens, George W. Cable, 
Lcland T. Powers, Will Carleton, Mrs. Frances Scott Siddons, 
Prof. James E. Murdock, Edgar W. Nye, James Whitcomb 
Riley, and others. 



LITERARY CLUBS AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 3G1 

During these twenty-one years this institution has been of 
great benefit to the citizens; giving, as it has, at a moderate 
cost, entertainments of the very highest order; thus afford- 
ing instruction, amusement and pleasure. It is hoped that it 
may be revived in the near future. 

After an interregnum of three years, two courses of six 
lectures each, for the seasons of 1898-1900 were given under 
the name of the Lyceum, by Messrs. Edward J. Kitching 
and Allen H. Sturges. 

MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

Soon after the incorporation of Melrose, it was found that 
quite a number of musical people were living here; and steps 
were taken to form a society for the cultivation of music. The 
Melrose Musical Association was organized. The first number 
of the Melrose Advertiser, issued in January, 1856, spoke in a 
very complimentary manner of its progress and efficiency. 
Under the leadership of the late Henry E. Trowbridge, with 
Andrew J. Morse as President, it thrived for many years, 
during which time it gave many fine concerts, always to the 
delight and satisfaction of the citizens. There were occasional 
breaks in its existence, but when occasion offered it would rise 
from its ashes with renewed vigor. Such was the case when 
the great " Peace Jubilee Festival " took place in Boston, under 
the direction of the late P. S. Gilmore, in June, 1869; also in 
that of a few years later, 1872, in the " Coliseum," when a still 
larger body of singers, said to be twenty thousand, was gath- 
ered. After an interregnum of a few years, the Association 
was again revived as the " Melrose Choral Society." As such 
it existed for several years, giving an occasional concert; its 
leader for a portion of the time being S. B. Whitney, the 
organist of the Church of the Advent, Under his direction it 
gave three of the entertainments in the " Melrose Lyceum," 
for the years 1893, 1894 and 1895; the first being the oratorio 
-of "Eli," the second the oratorio of " The Creation," and the 
third portions of the oratorios of " Stabat Mater " and " The 
Redemption." 

For a number of years the Melrose Orchestra existed and 
furnished delightful music on many an occasion. 

The Amphion Club was organized in the Melrose Club 
rooms, October 19, 1892, with the following list of officers: 



362 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

President, Charles C. Barry ; Vice President, William A. 
Waterhouse ; Treasurer, Walter F: Littlefield ; Secretary, Sid- 
ney Howe; Librarian, Frank D. Thatcher; and Ephraim Cutter, 
Jr., who was selected as Musical Director, with Grant Drake as 
Accompanist. Its object was for the " practice and perform- 
ance of part songs and choruses for male voices, and for the 
cultivation of a refined taste in that class of music." 

The membership was limited to sixty active or singing 
members, and two hundred associate or non-singing members. 
This membership has been kept full for these past ten years, 
and there are now applications for additional members; eight 
active and twenty-seven associate. 

About two years after its organization, August lO, 1894, the 
Club was incorporated, with Charles C. Barry, Walter F. 
Littlefield, William A. Waterhouse, Sidney Howe, Frank D. 
Thatcher, Laban Beal, Jr., Warren H. Wright, James G. 
Bowden, Thomas L. Cushman and Elvin W. Harding as 
corporators. 

Under the continued leadership of Mr. Cutter, with Mr. Grant 
Drake — many years teacher of music in our public schools-- 
as accompanist, this Club has attained a very high standard 
of excellence and ef^ciency, and its series of three concerts 
given each season in City Hall, affords great enjoyment and 
satisfaction to its patrons. For each concert each associate 
member receives four tickets; and the hall is filled to reple- 
tion at every performance, with a delighted audience. 

In addition to the regular concerts in Melrose, the Club gave 
a series of concerts for two years in Woburn, a concert in 1894 
to the unemployed poor in our cit}', and an " End of the 
Century Service" at the Orthodox Congregational Church, 
Melrose, on December 31, 1900. 

It has also given concerts before the Boston Art Club, the 
Home Market Club at Mechanics Hall, Boston, in 1897,^ 
the Bankers' Association of Boston, in 1900 and 1901, and the 
National Association of Manufacturers in 1900; and on Febru- 
ary 16, 1899, this Club received the great compliment of being 
invited to sing at the magnificent banquet given by the Home 
Market Club, to President McKinley, and members of his 
Cabinet, at Mechanics Hall, Huntington Avenue, Boston. 
The six selections for the occasion were rendered in such an 
artistic and pleasing manner, as to call forth unbounded praise 




LITERARY CLUBS AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 863 

from the fi\c thousand people present. So greatly was the 
President pleased that he sent President Shiimway the follow- 
ing autograph letter: 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, February 20, 1899. 
My Dear Sir: — ... I have much pleasure in stating that the 
excellent music on the occasion of the Home Market Club Banquet 
added a great deal to the enjoyment of that memorable evening. 
Very truly yours. 



^^;;^Ac£^-c^««-*-^ 7x.^J/toc. 



To Mr. Franklin P. Shumwav, 

President Amphion Club. 



Well may the "Amphions" be pleased with this well 
merited praise. It is, and has been, an incentive to attain still 
greater efficiency. 

In 1898, Mr. Barry declined a reelection as President, and 
Franklin P. Shumway was elected in his place. The present 
officers are: President, Franklin P. Shumway; Vice President, 
David B. Pitman; Secretary, Jabez S. Dyer; Treasurer, James 
G. Bowden; Librarian, Walter C. Martin; Assistant Librarian, 
Ernest L. Carr. These form the Board of Directors; and there 
is a Voice and Music Committee consisting of five members 
each. 

During the club's existence, it has given thirty concerts for 
which over three hundred and thirty rehearsals were held 
under the earnest and efficient conductorship of Mr. Cutter. 

The following " Dedication," written by Rev. M. J. Savage, 
was printed in the Club's first programme, February 2, 1893: 

.Vniphion's lyre, great Mercury's gift, 

Such wondrous power knew 
That, to the music of its strings, 

The Theban walls upgrew. 

.\n(l since that day, at music's touch 

All lower things uprise, 
Till what is earthly in us seeks 

Communion with the skies. 



LITERARY CLUBS AND MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 365 

A number of other musical associations, vocal and instru- 
mental, have had a longer or shorter life during our incorpo- 
rated existence; and there are now several well organized, and 
doing good musical work. 

The Methodist Choral Union consists of twenty-five members 
under the leadership of organist Charles E. Wilson. It is 
officered with a President, Secretary and Treasurer. 

The Chaminade Choral Society, composed wholly of ladies, 
was organized January 1 1, 1900; it has a membership of twenty- 
four, and is under the leadership of Mrs. Josie B. Tyler. Its 
first public performance took place April 23, 1901. It has a 
Secretary, Treasurer and Music Committee. 

The Melrose City Band was organized September 20, igoo, 
A, A. Quimby, leader. It has nineteen members. 

The Melrose Cadet Band was organized in March, 1901, with 
George H. Glover as conductor. It has twenty-one members. 
Both bands have given public performances and led in parades 
in a very satisfactory manner. 

Of orchestras we have several: that of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, S. Woodbridge Moorhouse, leader, with 
fifteen members; Dow's Orchestra, organized in i8g8, Richard 
E. Dow, leader and manager, has ten members; Tripp's 
Orchestra, Harry L. Tripp, leader, has ten members; and the 
Melrose Orchestral Association, Elmer D. Sherburne, leader, 
with ten members. 

Melrose has been the home of at least two people of more 
than ordinary musical talent; one vocal the other instrumental. 
Miss Geraldine Farrar — whose father, Sidney D. Farrar, was 
a resident and business man in Melrose for many years, and 
one of its Selectmen for the years 1896, '97 and '98 — was born 
here February 28, 1883. Many of our citizens remember her 
singing in church and home when a mere child. At twelve 
years of age she began her vocal studies under Mrs. J. H, 
Long. She rapidly developed a voice of wonderful power and 
sweetness. After graduating from our schools, for a while she 
engaged in concert work in New York and Washington. On 
the day that the news of Admiral Dewey's victory came to 
America, she sang "The Star Spangled Banner" to President 
William McKinley and his wife. 

In September, 1899, with her parents, she went to Paris, 
where, for a while, she studied under Angelo de Trabadello. 
From Paris to Berlin, where, under the tutorship of George 



366 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Graziani, she made her debut at the Royal Opera, October 15, 
1901, as " Marguerite," in Gounod's " Faust;" and she has 
become one of the most charming and successful of opera 
singers. Such was her success at the Royal Opera that she 
has been given a three years' engagement, with six months of 
each at her own disposal; and she has been allowed the 
unusual privilege of singing in Italian instead of German. 
Her present repertoire includes " Faust," " Traviata," " Romeo 
and Juliette," " Pagliacci," and " Lohengrin." 

Februar}^ 12th, 1902, a special message came from the Emperor to 
sing at the Castle, which she did with grand success. She received 
another invitation to sing for their Majesties on February 28th. 
Berlin is the most difficult city in Europe in which to debut, the critics 
being very severe but just. Geraldine was the first American to 
receive an engagement at the Royal Opera.^ 

Another musician was Walter Emerson, the famous cornetist. 
Although not born here, he early came to Melrose, and passed 
most of his days as a resident. He commenced his career 
by blowing the bugle calls for the Battery then stationed in 
Melrose. From that time he rapidly developed into one of 
the most famous cornetists the world has had. After traveling 
as soloist with a number of different companies he organized 
the Emerson Concert Company, which gave entertainments 
throughout the United States, in Canada and Europe. In 1878, 
he went to Europe with Gilmore's Band, of world-wide fame, 
as the Cornet Soloist, during which time he played the solos 
for one hundred and fifty-one concerts. 

Concerning his skill and success during this season abroad, 
Mr. Gilmore said, in writing to his father, George Emerson, 
under date of May 13, 1879: 

It was always a pleasure to me to see him take the solo stand, 
knowing that there lived no other young American who could do more 
honor to the country so far as national renown could be advanced by 
cornet playing. The rapidity of his tonguing, and the great facility 
of his execution, surprised some of the slow coaches of the old world, 
and they really began to believe that America was a dashing, go 
ahead, fast country. 

His performances were a brilliant ornament in our concerts, and in 
several respects he was considered the most remarkable performer 
ever heard abroad. 

Mr. Emerson died June i, 1893. 

^ Letter from her father, dated Berlin, February 18, 1902. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

MANY literary men and women have made Melrose their 
home. Their works have been of many kinds — his- 
torical, biographical, theological, political, scientific, 
electrical, educational, medicinal, musical and fiction. All 
cannot be enumerated; only the most important, giving the 
authors' names in alphabetical order. 

Rev. John Greenleaf Adams, D. D., was a Universalist 
minister. Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 30, 1810; 
died at Melrose Highlands, May 4, 1887. He was a prolific 
writer. Among his most important works are Memoir of 
Thomas Whittemore, Universalism of the Lord's Prayer, Talks 
Abotit the Bible, Fifty Notable Years, and The Inner Life. During 
his life he was editor of various Sabbath School papers of the 
Universalist denomination. For many years he was closely 
identified with the history of Maiden. Deloraine P. Corey, in 
his sketch of Maiden for Drake's History of Middlesex County, 
published in 1880, thus speaks of Dr. Adams, who was settled 
over the Universalist Church of Maiden many years, in con- 
nection with Rev. Alexander W. McClure, who was settled 
over the Congregational Church at the same time: 

But I may linger a moment over the names of two clergymen whose 
memories are cherished and honored in the churches and town which 
they loved. The Rev. Alexander W. McClure, the caustic wit of the 
Trinitarian Society, and the Rev. John G. Adams of the First Parish, 
revived in the nineteenth century, for a while, the pastorates of the 
olden time. Both heartily earnest in their work, they became as one 
with the people of their charges, and were, to the rich and poor alike, 
faithful pastors and sympathetic friends. Nor were they less earnest 
in their duties as neighbors and townsmen in the daily and secular 
affairs of life. Antagonistic as they were in their religious beliefs, 
with the memories of the recent conflicts of their societies still alive, 
they stood stoutly shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand in the many 



368 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

reforms which they instituted or promoted, and cemented a friendship 
which time did not destroy, which is still green in the hearts of the 
survivor, and which may make more joyous the meeting on the shores 
of life. In the temperance cause, in charitable work, and in educa- 
tional matters they urged reforms and introduced new methods by 
which the interests of the people were advanced and their prosperity 
promoted. 

George Lowell Austin, M. D., was born in Lawrence, 
September ii, 1849 3"^ died in Melrose, June 5, 1893. He 
wrote a Life of Franz Schubert, 1872; The History of MassacJiu- 
setts, from the Landing of the Pilgrims to the Present Time, 1876; 
The Indispensible Handbook of Useful and Practical Information, 
1878; Water- Analysis, A Handbook for Water-Drinkers, 1882; 
Henry Wadsivorth Longfellow ; His IJfe, His Works, His Friend- 
ships, 1883; atid The Life and Times of Wendell Phillips, 1884. 

Joseph Edward Babson was born in Newburyport, in 1831, 
and died in Melrose Highlands, May 19, 1875. He was a 
frequent contributor to the Boston newspapers, under the 
pseudonym of "Tom Folio." He was an ardent student, and 
particularly fond of the English prose writers. He edited an 
edition of Charles Lamb's works, and gathered from various 
English magazines the scattered contributions of Leigh Hunt, 
Douglas Jerrold and Charles Lamb, as follows: Eliana, Bei?ig 
the Hitherto Uncollected Writings of Charles Lamb, 1869; A Day by 
the Fire, and other Papers, Hitherto Uncollected, by Leigh Hunt, 
1869; The Wishing- Cap Papers by Leigh Hunt, Nozv First Collected, 
1872; Fireside Saints, Mr. Caudle's Breakfast Talk, and Other 
Papers, by Douglas Jerrold, 1873. Mr. Babson left a very fine 
library, now the property of Mrs. Caroline W. Clinkard, to 
whom he bequeathed it; and it is now in her home on Park 
Street, Melrose. 

Captain George Pickering Burnham was born in Boston, 
April 24, 1814, and died in Melrose, April 17, 1902. He came 
to Melrose in 1850, the year in which it was incorporated. His 
literary career covers a period of over fifty years. In journal- 
ism he has been reporter, sub-editor, editor, and the writer of 
many sketches and stories. He has given much attention to 
a specialty in fowls and birds, and has written a dozen books 
connected with that subject, including his humorous treatment 
of The History of the Hen Fever, published in 1855, and which 
had a very extensive sale. In this same year he also wrote an 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 369 

anti-slavery story, entitled The Rag-Picker ; or. Bound and Free. 
His other writinr;;-.s include Metnoirs of tJie United States Secret 
Service, Aniencan Coioiterfeits, and A Hundred Thousa?id Dollars 
i?i Gold. 

Rev. Daniel Dorchestkk, D. D., was born in Diixbur) , 
Massachusetts, March ii, 1827. He was appointed by Presi- 
dent William Harrison, Superintendent of Indian Schools of 
the United States, May i, 1889. He served nearly five years. 
His published works are Concessions of Liberalists to Orthodoxy, 
1878; Giving and Worship, 1882; Problem of Religious Progress, 
1882; The Liquor Problem in All Ages, 1884; Christianity in the 
United States, 1888; Latest Drink Sophistries vs. Total Abstinence, 
1885; The Luiictment of the Liquor Traffic, 1885; ^-^^^ ^^''A^ (>f 
Methodism, 1 887 ; Romanism vs. the Public School System, 1 888 a?id 
Christianity Vifidicated by its Enemies, 1896. He has e\'er been 
conspicuous in all temperance measures, and an authority in 
statistical studies pertaining to the ecclesiastical and reform- 
atory departments of inquiry. 

Colonel Samuel Adams Drake has written many works 
of an historical character. He was born in Boston, December 
20, 1833. At the breaking out of the Great Rebellion he 
was a resident of Kansas, and was appointed colonel of the 
Seventeenth Regiment of Kansas Volunteer Infantry, serving 
throughout the war. His first book was Old Land-marks and 
Historic Personages of Boston, issued in 1873. This was followed 
by His tone Fields and Mansions of Middlesex, Nooks a?id Corners 
of the New Efigland Coast, Bunker Hill, General Israel Putnam, 
the Commander at Bunker Hill, History of Middlesex Cotinty, The 
Heart of the White Mountains, Around the Hub, New England 
Legends and Folk Lore, Our Great Benefactors, The Old Boston 
Taverns and Tavern Clubs, The Making of Nezv England, 7 he 
Making of the Great West, Burgoynes Invasion of 1777, The 
Taking of Louisburg, The Battle of Gettysburg, Campaign of Treti- 
ton. Watch Fires of '76, and On Plymouth Rock. He has writ- 
ten one historical novel, entitled, Captain Nelson: a Romance 
of Colonial Days, and has contributed to Our Young Folks, 
Our Boys and Girls, and Harper's Magazine ; a.\so the articles 
" Florida," *' Georgia," and " Sebastian Cabot," for the Cyclo- 
paedia Britannic a. 

Rev. Richard Eddy, D. D., was born in Providence, K. I., 



370 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



June 21, 1828. For several years he was a pastor of the 
Universalist Church. Many of his sermons have been printed. 
His larger works are: History of the Sixtieth Regiment, New York 
State Volunteers, of which he was chaplain; Universalism in 
America, Alcohol in History, and Alcohol in Society. He has been 
editor of different newspapers, among them the Universalist 
Quarterly and General Review. 

Hon. Daniel Wheelwright Gooch was born in Wells, 
Maine, January 8, 1820. Graduated at Dartmouth College in 




1843, ^"cl admitted to the Suffolk Bar in 1846. Came to 
Melrose (then North Malden)[in 1848, where he died Novem- 
ber I, 1891. He was elected a representative to the General 
Court in 1852, and a member of the Constitutional Convention 
m 1853. He was an adherent of the Free-Soil party until the 
formation of the Republican party, with which he has ever 
since acted. He has several times been elected a Representa- 
tive to Congress; was a member of the Thirty-fifth, Thirtv- 
sixth, Thirty-seventh and Thirt)'-eighth Congresses, in the 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 371 

latter serving as a member of the Congressional Committee on 
the Conduct of the War, and was chairman on the part of the 
House; its four years of. investigations were printed in several 
volumes. Having been elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, 
he resigned, September i, 1865, to accept from President 
Johnson the appointment of naval officer for the port of 
Boston, which position he held for a year. In 1868 he was 
elected a delegate to the Chicago Convention. In the Forty- 
third Congress he again served as Representative for the Fifth 
Massachusetts District. From 1875 to 1886 he was Pension 
Agent at Boston, after which he resumed the practice of the 
law. A number of his legal arguments have been printed, 
notably those in the Hoosac Tunnel, Troy & Greenfield Railroad, 
and Joseph M. Day, Judge of Probate, cases. Many of his 
Congressional speeches were printed in pamphlet form; among 
them were The Lecompton Constitution and the Admission of Kansas 
into the Union, Polygamy in Utah, The Supreme Court and Dred 
Scott, Orga7iization of the Territories, Any Compromise a Surrender, 
Recognition of Hayti and Liberia, and Secession and Reconstruction. 

Rev. John Healy Heywood was born in Worcester, March 
30, 1818. Graduated from Harvard College in 1836, and from 
the Divinity School in 1840. He was first settled in Louisville, 
Ky., in 1840, when he succeeded the late Rev. James Freeman 
Clarke, D. D. After a pastorate of forty years he resigned. 
He was settled over the Unitarian Church of Melrose, in 1884, 
having occupied, since leaving Louisville, the pulpit at Ply- 
mouth, Mass., for one year, that of Dr. Putnam in Brooklyn, for 
six months and that of the Independent Congregational Church, 
in Baltimore, Md., for three months. His printed volumes 
are as follows: Unitarian Views Vindicated, 1854; The Causes 
and C2ire of Intemperance, 1874; The Unitarian Banner, 1878; 
Our Indian Mission atid our First Missionary, Rev. Charles H. A. 
Dall; and William Green leaf Eliot, 1887. 

Frederick Kidder was born in New Ipswich, N. H., 
April 16, 1804, and died in Melrose, December 19, 1885, in his 
eighty-second year. Went to Boston in 1822, and with his 
brother was several years in business in Wilmington, N. C. 

In 1845, Messrs. Benjamin V. and Charles Copeland, together 
with Mr. Kidder, bought of the Barings, of London, a tract of 
land on the Schoodic Lakes, in Plastern Maine, containing over 



372 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

a hundred thousand acres, being more than thirty miles in 
extent, This proved to be a very profitable investment, and 
would have been much more so had they continued to hold the 
land for a while longer than they did. He was one of the 
trustees of the Public Library from 1870 to 1882, most of 
the time chairman. 

His first literary work was a history of his native town, New 
Ipswich, N. H., which was issued in 1852. In that early day 
of town histories, this was one of the most complete and 
thorough works that had appeared. His other volumes are: 
The Expedition of Captain Lovezvell, and his Encounters with the 
Indians, Military Operations in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia 
during the Revolution, History of the First Nezv Hampshire Regi- 
ment in the War of the Revolution, and History of th(i Boston Massa- 
cre, March §, 1770. His magazine articles reprinted in pamph- 
let were: The Adventures of Captain Lovewell, The Abenaki 
Indians., The Szvedes on the Delaivare, and The Discovery of North 
America by John Cabot: A First Chapter in the History of North 
America. 

Robert Fowler Leighton, born in Durham, Maine, Janu- 
ary 23, 1838, was for several years principal of the High School 
of Melrose, during which time he wrote several educational 
works: Greek Lessons, Latin Lessons, and Harvard Examination 
Papers. Since then he has given his attention to historical 
works, and has written a History of Rome, History of Greece, 
Cicero's Select Letters, and Historia Critica M. T. Ciceronis Epistu- 
larum ad Familiares ; this was published in Latin, in Leipsic, 
Germany. 

Mary Ashton Livermore was born in Boston, December 
19, 1820; was a teacher in Charlestown and Duxbury, Mass. 
In 1857 her husband, Daniel P., established the New Covena)it, 
a Universalist journal, of which she became associate editor for 
twelve years, during which time she frequently contributed to 
periodicals of her denomination and edited the Lily. When 
the Rebellion broke out she became connected with the United 
States Sanitary Commission, headquarters at Chicago, per- 
forming a vast amount of labor of all kinds — organizing 
auxiliary societies, visiting hospitals and military posts, con- 
tributing to the press, answering correspondence, and the 
thousand and one things incident to the wonderful work done 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



373 



by that institution. She was one that helped organize the 
great fair in 1863, at Chicago, when nearly gioo.ooo was raised, 
and for which she obtained the original draft of the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation from President Lincoln, which was sold for 
$3,000. As she says in her extremely interesting volume, My 
Story of the War: " Here were packed and shipped to the 
hospitals or battle-field '/y,66o packages of sanitary supplies, 
whose cash value was $1,056, [Q2. 16. Here were written and 
mailed letters by the ten thousand, circulars by the hundred 



f 




thousand, monthly bulletins and reports. Here were planned 
visits tp the aid societies, trips to the army, methods of raising 
money and supplies, systems of relief for soldiers' families and 
white refugees, Homes and Rests for destitute and enfeebled 
soldiers, and the details of mammoth sanitary fairs. 

When the war was over she instituted a paper called the 
Agitator, which was afterwards merged in the Woman's journal. 
Of this she was editor, for two years and has been a frequent 
contributor to it since. On the lecture platform she has had a 



374 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

remarkable career, speaking largely in behalf of the woman 
suffrage and the temperance movements. A few years ago 
she was "one of the four lecturers that were most in demand 
and that commanded the largest fees, the other three being 
men." Many years she has traveled 25,000 miles annually, 
speaking five nights each week for five months of the year. 

Her printed volumes are: Thirty Years Too Late, first pub- 
lished in 1847 ss a prize temperance tale, and republished in 
1878; Pe)i Pictures, or. Sketches from Domestic Life ; What Shalt 
We Do zvith Our Daughters? Superfluous Women and Other 
Lectures ; and My Story of the War. A Woman s Narrative of 
Four Years' Personal Experience as Nurse in the Union Army, a7id 
in Relief Work at Home, in Hospitals, Camps and at the Front 
during the War of the Rebellion. Of this work one has well 
said: "Should every other book on the war be blotted out of 
existence, this one would completely reflect the spirit and work 
of the Women of the North." 

For Women of the Z)<2jj' she wrote the sketch of the sculptress. 
Miss Anne Whitney; and for the " Centennial Celebration of 
the First Settlement of the Northwestern States, at Marietta, 
Ohio, July 15, 1788," she delivered the historical address. 

Her last work was published in 1897. ^^^ subject, character 
and scope is given on its title-page, which contains a compre- 
hensive biography of the author: " The Story of My Life; or. The 
Siinshine and Shadoiv of Seventy Years, by Mary A. Livermore, 
Teacher, Author, Wife, Mother, Army Nurse, Soldiers' Friend, 
Lecturer, and Reformer. A Narrative of Her Early Life 
and Struggles for Education, Three Years' Experience on a 
Southern Plantation among White Masters and Black Slaves, 
Her Courtship, Marriage, Domestic Life, etc., with hitherto 
unrecorded Incidents and Recollections of Three Years' Ex- 
perience as an Army Nurse in the Great Civil War, and Rem- 
iniscences of Twenty-five Years' Experiences on the Lecture 
Platform, including Thrilling, Pathetic, and Humorous Inci- 
dents of Platform Life." 

Rev. Daniel Pakker Livermore, born in Leicester, Mass.,. 
June 17, 1818, and died in Melrose, July 5, 1899. He was a 
Universalist minister, and besides editing the Netv Covenant for 
a dozen )'ears and contributing to newspapers and magazines, 
has published several pamphlets of a denominational character,. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 375 

and a half-dozen on the subject of "Woman Suffrage," in favor 
of which he strongly argued. 

Thomas D. Lockwood, born in Plngland, December 20, 1848, 
IS an eminent electrician, an acknowledged authority in all 
matters pertaining to electrical telephony. He is electrician 
in charge.of all matters connected with patents, and the collec- 
tion and collation of electrical information for the American 
Bell Telephone Company. Besides very many articles 
contributed to the electrical press, he has published three 
volumes: Electricity, Magnetism and Electric Telegraphy, Electrical 
Measurement and the Galvanojucter, and Practical Information for 
Telephonists. 

To get an idea of the vast amount of literature that has been 
published on electricity, one should visit Mr. Lockwood's de- 
partment connected with the Telephone Co., and see the 
array of works that have been issued, in many languages, on 
that subject; no other such collection can be found, and to 
this he has himself contributed not a little. During the winter 
of 1885-86, he delivered a course of lectures before the Lowell 
Institute, Boston, on The Electric Telegraph and Telephone. His 
essay entitled On the Electrical Disturbances occurring in Tele- 
phonic Circuits, and the methods proposed for obviating or overcoming 
them, was published by the United States Government, in 1886. 
He is a constant contributor to the electrical journals of the 
countr}-. 

Gilbert Nash was born in Weymouth, Mass., April 22, 
1825, and died there April 13, 1888. He lived many years in 
Melrose. He wrote a history of his native town, a Memoir of 
General Solomon Novell, and a volume of poems, entitled Bay 
Leaves. 

Charles J. Noyes was born in Haverhill, Mass., Au- 
gust 7, 1841. Graduated from Haverhill Academy in i860, as 
the valedictorian of his class. Graduated at Union College, 
Schenectady, N. Y., in 1864. Delivered the Honorary Chancel- 
lor's Address for that College in 1888, receiving the degree of 
LL.D. Admitted to the bar in 1864. Elected to the Massa- 
chusetts Senate in 1867. and to the House of Representatives 
in 1866, 'T], '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '87 and '88, during which time 
he served five years as Speaker. He has delivered a number 
of addresses which have been printed, his last one being in our 



376 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

City Hall, at the Memorial Services of President William 
McKinley. His only printed volume is a Revolutionary story, 
Patriot and Tory., published in 1902. He has another story 
ready for the press, entitled Not Accordbi f Scriptur . 

Thomas Bellows Peck, many years resident of Melrose, 
Chairman of School Committee in 1877, and Trustee of the 
Public Library from 1884 to 1887, now living in Walpole, N. H., 
his native place, published in 1898, The Bellows Genealogy ; or 
John Bellows, the Boy Emigrant of i6j^, and his Descendants, 
a volume of 657 pages. 

William Frederick Poole, LL. D., the eminent librarian 
and bibliophile, was born m Salem, Massachusetts, December 
24, 1821, and died in Evanston, Illinois, March i, 1894. He 
graduated from Yale College in 1849. While there he became 
the assistant librarian, which was the beginning of a life-long 
profession. He was librarian of the Mercantile Library Asso- 
ciation of Boston for four years; of the Boston Athaeneum for 
thirteen years; of the Cincinnati Public Library for five years; 
of the Chicago Public Library for fourteen years; and from 
1887 to the day of his death, of the Newberry Library of 
Chicago, founded by the munificence of the millionaire Walter 
L. Newberry. For many years he lived in Melrose, during 
which lime his pen was ever busy. During the controversy 
between the Webster and Worcester Dictionaries, in 1855-56, 
he published three pamphlets championing Webster as being 
the best authority: IVebsterian Orthography, Dictionaries in the 
Boston Mercantile Library and Boston Athcenemn, and Tlie Ortho- 
graphical Hobgoblin. 

In the discussion concernmg the historical claims of " The 
Popham Colony," he wrote many articles in the Boston Daily 
Advertiser and the Bibliography of the PopJiam Colony. In 1867 
a new edition of Edward Johnson's Wo7ider- Working Providejice 
of Zio7is Saviour in New England, was published, for which he 
wrote an introduction and numerous historical notes. He has 
issued several pamphlets connected with " Cotton Mather and 
Salem Witchcraft," and wrote the chapter on " Witchcraft in 
Boston," for the Memorial Histoiy of Bost07t,\ss\\Qd in 1880; 
and for Justin Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of 
America, vol. 6. he wrote the chapter entitled, "The West, 
From the Treaty of Peace with France, 1763, to the Treaty of 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 377 

Peace with England, 1783." In 1874-75, in Chicago, he edited 
a monthly literary paper called The Owl, which was succeeded 
by The Dial, to which he was a constant contributor, chiefly in 
historical criticism, in which he had few equals. 

In this department his work has always been in the nature of a plea 
for judicial fairness and candor in historical writing, and his pen has 
constantly been on the alert to discover and expose the pet fallacies of 
the villifiers of the fathers of New England, and of all those with whom 
the demands of rhetoric seem louder than those of truth. 

His best known work is Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, 
which was first issued in 1848, as Index to Snhjeets Treated in 
the Revieivs, and other Periodicals to ivhich no Indexes have been 
Published, enlarged as An Index to Periodical Literature, in 
1853, and again enlarged and issued in 1882. To this a supple- 
ment is to be published every five years. This " is a work of 
the times, for the times; the vast and hitherto pathless conti- 
nents of periodical literature are surveyed, systematized, and 
made accessible." A half dozen supplementary volumes have 
now been issued. 

He contributed during his life many historical articles and 
reviews to the Boston and Chicago papers, and delivered 
several addresses before the literary clubs of Cincinnati and 
Chicago. Among his latest publications are: The Early North- 
west, The Ordijiancc of lySy, and The University Library and 
the University Curricnlnvi, the last issued in 1894. but a short 
time before his death. 

Mr. Poole has been President of the American Historical 
Association and of the American Library Association. His 
many papers on library architecture, and on matters pertaining 
to libraries in the Library yoiinial ixnd other periodicals, have 
attracted much attention, not only in our land, but in Europe, 
and if collected would make quite a volume. The Chicago 
Literary Clui) issued an /;/ Memoriani, a pamphlet of forty-two 
pages. It says: 

He was a great teacher. . . . Me was widely admired, at home and 
abroad, for his exceptional scholarship and knowledge. To be known 
as his friend, in any of the great libraries of Europe, was thfe best of 
introductions. If he was a man to be admired for his attainments, 
still more was he to be loved for his character, which was formed for 
friendship. Impatient of shallow and trifling natures, it was not easy 
for all to approach him on familiar terms ; but those once admitted to 
his friendship, he held in a life long intimacy. 



378 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Oliver Ayer Roberts, born in Haverhill, Mass., March 17, 
1838. Went to Yale College one year, 1858, then entered 
Antioch College, Ohio. When the War of the Rebellion broke 
out, he returned to Massachusetts and enlisted in the Fiftieth 
Regiment, nine months' troops, as Sergeant Major. Then in 
1864, re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Regi- 
ment, serving in Virginia, and was discharged in June, 1865, at 
the end of the war. He then returned to, and graduated at 
Antioch College. He published the Herald of Gospel of 
Liberty, in Dayton, Ohio, for two years. Then for two years, 
1869-70, was principal of Le Grand Institute, at Le Grand, 
Iowa. In 1869, he was ordained as a Christian minister at 
Winterset, Iowa. Settled over the Independent Church, New 
Bedford, in 1871, continuing for seven years. During this time 
he served as Auditor, a member of the School Committee and 
Trustee of the Public Library. In 1879, he was settled over 
the church at Salisbury, Mass., where he remained until No- 
vember, 1887, removed to Melrose, retiring from the ministry, 
and devoting himself to literary work, coupled with duties as 
an assistant in the recording grand secretary's office of the 
Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts. 

Among his published works are: TJie California Pilgrimage 
of Boston Commandery, Knights Templars, 1883; Cross-Bearers — 
Croivn Winners, 1883; Sermon at Profile Honse, before Boston 
Com,inandety, 1882; Newbiiryport Commandery; 2^th Anniver- 
sary Sermon of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. 
He has delivered many Memorial Day addresses, and written 
the Roberts and the Brewster Genealogies. 

His last literar}^ work has been the writing of the Histojy of 
the Ancient a7id Honorable Artillery Company, from t6jS to 1 888, 
authorized by the Company through its Military and Library 
Committee. It consists of four large royal octavo volumes, 
the preface to vol. 4 being dated, "Evacuation Day, March 
17, 1901, Melrose, Mass." It is the history of the oldest 
military company in the country, and gives its history and 
biographical sketches of its thousands of members, many of 
whom have been among our most prominent statesmen, law- 
yers, business men, poets, historians, clergymen, and soldiers 
and officers in army and navy. It is a most valuable work and 
concerning the manner in which he has accomplished his task 
of fourteen years duration, the Committee state in its preface: 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



379 



The Company must ever remain indebted to the historian, Mr. Oliver 
A. Roberts, for the ability and thoroughness with which he has per- 
formed his work. Full and accurate in its details, concise and clear 
in its statements, the History will ever hold a high place among the 
works of a similar character. 

Hon. Samuel Edmund Sewall was born in Boston, Novem- 
ber 9, 1799, and died in Boston, December 20, 1888. 




He graduated from Harvard College in 1817. He came to 
North Maiden in 1846, when it had but two or three hundred 
inhabitants. He was elected State Senator from Stoneham in 
1852, as his house was just over the line from Melrose; but 
this territory was detached from Stoneham and joined to 
Melrose in 1853. He was identified with the anti-slavery 
movement from its beginnings, being one of the few wha 
joined William Lloyd Garrison when he came to Boston in 
1830. 

Mr. Garrison, Oliver Johnson and Samuel J. May, met in Mr. 
Sewall's office on State Street, Boston, to form the Massachu- 



380 . HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

setts Anti-Slavery Society. Mr. Sewall was also a prominent 
member of the National Anti-Slavery Society. 

Upon the organization of the Liberty party he was for two 
years its candidate for Governor. He acted with that and the 
Free-Soil party until they were merged in the Republican 
party. He was ever foremost in advocating the passage of 
laws for the benefit of women, and while in the Senate he 
drafted a bill which became a law, giving married women the 
right to hold property. His only printed work is a pamphlet 
•entitled Legal Coriditioji of Women in Massachusetts, which was 
first issued in 1868; then revised in 1870, agam in 1875 and 
again in 1886. Many years ago he was editor for two years of 
the American Jurist afid Law Magazine (a quarterly). He 
also edited, in connection with Willard Phillips, two editions 
of Sir John Bayley's Summary of the Law of Bills of Exchange, 
Cash Bills and Promissory Notes, the last edition being issued 
in 1836. Many years ago he contributed a number of articles 
to the Christian Register. The only other published matter of 
his, aside from that arising from his long life devoted to the 
law, is his sketch of his father, Joseph Sewall, prepared for 
the first volume of the Memorial Biographies of the New 
England Historic Genealogical Society, published from the 
"Towne Memorial Fund." His father was a merchant of 
Boston and Treasurer of the Commonwealth from 1827 to 1832. 

Bradford Torrey, was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, 
October 9, 1843. This keen observer of nature and great lover 
of birds, lived in Melrose for a number of years. His first 
book. Birds in the Bush, was published in 1885. Far and wide 
did he ramble, but many of his observations were made here 
in Melrose: 

After the music of the Alice and the Swainson thrushes, the chief 
distinction of May, 1 884, as far as my Melrose woods were concerned, 
was the entirely unexpected advent of a colony of rose-breasted gros- 
beaks. For five seasons I had called these hunting grounds my own, 
. . . before the end of the following month the hermit thrushes, the 
olive beaked thrushes and the gray-chested thrushes all sang for me 
in my Melrose woods. 

Since then he has written The Footpath Way, 1892,^ Rambler s 
Lease, 1889, A Florida Sketch Book, 1894, Spring Notes of Ten- 
nessee, i8g6, A World of Green Hills, 1898 and Footing it in 
Franconia, 1901. Most of the contents of these volumes were 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 381 

first contributed to the Atlantic Monthly; afterward published 
in book form. 

The bibliography of writings pertaining particularly to Mel- 
rose is as follows: 

In 1832, the Rev. S. Osgood Wright preached " An Historical 
Discourse," at Maiden on Thanksgiving Day, which contained 
"A Sketch of the History of that Town from the Settlement 
to the Present Time," in which two or three pages are devoted 
to "that part of the town called the North End." 

The Origin and Present Condition of Free Masonry in Melrose. 
Prepared by direction of the Waverley Masonic Association, 
for the purpose of being deposited in the Corner Stone of their 
new edifice, at Melrose, June 25, a.d. 1866. By Levi S. Gould, 
Past Master of Wyoming Lodge, 1866. 

The Melrose Memorial, The Annals of Melrose, Contity of Mid- 
dlesex, Massachusetts, in the Great Rebellion of 1 86 1 -6^, By 
Elbridge H. Goss. Privately Printed by Subscription, 1868. 

The Centennial Fourth. Historical Address Delivered in 
Town Hall, Melrose, Mass., July 4, 1876, by Elbridge H. Goss. 
Also, The Proceedings of the Day. Privately Printed, Mel- 
rose, 1876. 

" History of Melrose, by Elbridge H. Goss," for the History 
of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, adxicd by Samuel Adams 
Drake, who wrote for it the "General History of the County," 
1880. 

Bibliography of Melrose, by Elbridge H. Goss, 1889.^ 

" History of Melrose, by Elbridge H. Goss," for the History 
of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, ivith Biographical Sketches 
of many of its Pioneers and Promifient Men, 1 890. 

Echoes from Mystic Side, Maiden, Melrose, Everett, by H. M.. 
1890. This little work contains a short sketch of Melrose, 
with the following appreciative item: 

The growth of the town is due to the energy and attention of its 
people, m improving a tract of land already beautified by nature. 
Many fine residences have been erected, and Melrose is acknowledged 
as one of the most attractive places in this vicinity. 

Melrose: Town and City 1850 — I(po. Published on the 
occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Meh\)se, May, 1900. 
Issued by Charles II. Adams, proprietor of the iT/<c/w.y<f yoitrnal. 

^ This Bibliography contains writers anil tlieir works, than are 
other details concerning Melrose here given. 



582 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

This work contains a historical sketch by Elbridge H. Goss, 
an account of the speeches and other proceedings at the 
Banquet in City Hall, May 2, 1900, given by the Board of 
Trade, views of many of its public buildings and finest resi- 
dences, from photographs by Lewis A. Dow, and portraits 
by Mrs. Addie K. Robinson and Elmer Chickering; and bio- 
graphical sketches of one hundred and thirty-seven of the 
leading and best known citizens. 

Every two years Edward A. Jones issues a new edition of 
t\\e Business and Resident Diirctojy of Melrose. It contains a 
complete resident, street and business directory, city officers, 
schools, societies, churches, post-offices, etc. and a map of the 
city. The fifth edition was issued in 1902. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
NEWSPAPERS. 

OUR First Newspaper. The first Melrose newspaper was 
called the Melrose Advertiser. The first number was 
issued in January, 1856. It was "A Family Newspaper, 
Devoted to the Interest of the Business Community, the Public 
and Ourselves." It was published monthly by G. S. Severy 
and A. H. V^arney. It continued to be issued for about a year, 
when it ceased to exist for want of patrona,2^e, notwithstanding^ 
the introductory editorial, in No. i, said: "This paper is 
presented to the public in full confidence that it will be 
abundantly sustained and liberall}- patronized." It was a 
small four-paged sheet, thirteen by eighteen inches. 

On the next page is a reduced reproduction of the first page 
of the No. 5, issued in May, 1856, which as the written legend 
at the top tells us: 

This is the first paper printed m Melrose. I set the type and did 
the presswork before I was sixteen years old. Edwin C. Gould. 

This was the only number that was printed in Melrose, the 
rest of the work having been done in Boston. This number 
was printed in a little building which stood on Essex street, 
opposite the City Hall, on the site of the present laundry of 
Charlie Sing, and store of the Smith Brothers — they of the 
automatic cordwainer, with surrounding sign: "Shoemaking; 
That's our business." Only a few numbers of the Advertiser 
can be found, although effort has been made to gather a com- 
plete set for our Public Library. The only numbers I have 
seen are i, 2, 5 and 7. In those numbers are many items of 
interest concerning the then existing institutions and business. 
Melrose then had about twenty-five hundred inhabitants. In 
Vol. I, No. 2, "An Old Resident,]. B.," writing from Province- 
town is reminicial and calls to mind old times as follows : 

Do you remember when there was but one church and that without 











^A~yAMlLY NKWSl'AFEK , DEVOTEI) TO THE .lOTL^lESTJJF^THij^^^^SS^JM^ 



VO L^; 

JlELKOsE ADVr.UTlSKR 

I. puUBheJ MoniUljI by 

r^lrcBU per annual, i"' tO^anrt . 
i.rclt_ ^^^__^j .^ ^^.p^^. ,n„n in NVw 

TERSSOFADVERTISING.^ 

One totama, 
OBcttAir coloron.. 
Ooeqnatwcolomi 
<Joe«qoare,l'CIi 



MELROSE: MAY, 1S56. 



NO- 5. 




^OICIITS FOP. A VOUM. MAN. 



St»y,yonn; 
JwouW'. 



:f','.',T„f;nrl°.".Vn';,T""' 






? mooj, r. I 



Mill in \\\ 
obserfcr n-islil hove >con il;ai a lifcn 
me of prariic.il joLlng larl.cd in llieir 
jfenmin:: depth.'. 

Ishpiniii) t]j:c(l not vrnluve far oui. Tor 
1 close bloflindc W3S l^rpl up along ihe 
'oa.'l- .Tnd ?n ihev were forccti lo forcqo 
he advani.i^es'of llicir tesl fishing 
Trciund?. Cut a new iue.l had been 
akine po fci-icn of iheii brains. and they 
houpht nf filling out 
the English. For tw 



had ihii 



1 peiso 



wai-rare hail been 
ed. but' no ve>rel suiiuble for lie 
iii.ecouldbe oblainrd, nor could 
rai^c cons heovv enungh for h,r 



:n had ihev 
iiols and' 



iinio': 



of he 



rnou;h. and iliatna: 
rd one old si^-pouiidi 
a lind of signal gun 
fo;;5 and sioiiny niiihi;. 

It was ju<l at "ni-lnrall ihat Olied 
Xi;hling»le's shallop (Obrd iva« Ibe old 



son), 



ando 

me on shore, he reported 
an English lop ail schoon- 
liper-buill cinfl, laving olf 
fndiiicledg- 
d, and seem- 
er as ibougb 



I Maohc. 



es. She was heavily ar 
ed lo play aboul in llie m 
her heels were made for running. 

Now Cap:. Nisii.lngalcbjd sa.d vrry 
lilile about the various projects ihjl had 
bei-n sei on foot with regard lo the pri- 
vateering expedition, but he had ihought 
a good deal, and a' soon as his son com- 
municated the above intelligenre, his 
hou^hts eame to a focus. A plan of 
)pcia.ioii was clearly marked out in bis 
nind, and he at onrc set about the work 
of pulling it inioefTcfi. 

The man w ho stood second lo Capl 
l-hlip^nle, a« mate. «as jabe Has- 
l.ii-. 



■ Helloiv :■ re 


11, 


.cd J4be. 


■ •Dovousiir 


en 


ler V 


• Wal.efjo 


w 


011^ t»iikeus, I s'p 


I c^^n'i help inj 


-el 




The clipper 


bo 


ve he'.: fnre-lop'^ail 


ilie masl and 




veredfO bnal, and 






afierrtMTui her ee 






Ll rViajJie.i. cj 


over the Van'.. 


e' 


\:ft»-v^f,x 



• :>-•'■ 



■Vi* 



a ludici( 
•So JO 

offlcf r. ' 
• I done 



ob- 
op. 
el-,, wo» ll.c Hirp gUu rflnsd- 
r.it ihough ilia' thought of an 
1 pirate inodp^flira feel sore, 
uld not help la vl'ing at the i i- 
scene thus ptej>nted to gaze, 
ve gieen lookii*!- lisbermeo to- 
lib that gun, ditl^,iesent rather 



appen 



(.att 



ledi- 



fended air, • 1 s'| 

1 should have 
.-hould a been pit 

'•Ho ' 



iriteid the British 

erl We wUb an of- 
e xiyi. eome across 
hai Jupuldhaveiotik, 
ne iio^ul dono as 1 
ng uii; morclii jr«a 



•Nevi 



lind that, ."ffta'hafl. We'll 
no Halifax, 'and there, per- 



•Well, s pose aegear. 


take be 


•Take that Englishman 


!-\V.h- 


• But Tarn in earnest.' 




Jabc looked at Nighti 


ngale wi 



THE ENCLISUMAN'S IJCPLOIT. 
HviO much lit made by it. 

DV SYLVANUS CODB, JB. 

Maoy yesfi 050, when we wc 
■tcre boy. nc if^eil 10 >ii upcn a 
siool, at ibc fen or ComrDoJcrc S:ii 
Tucker, anJ hojr lUm old 



ihe incidoi 
ebscrvaiion 



veteran jrhi 
ilu.i tp.J roine under hiv 
r.ns ihc biui u'-leui.h 
Great Br.i.an. Among ihL- Uiou^anJ 
■nd one s-oriri ihni wc have hear.! fall 
from the tips of ihji occn wufiior, ihe 
(oJlowio^ hjs rt-inainrd (.c^^h in oui 
jueniory. 

On ihe urffm ehoro of Pcnol.coi 
Bay. between Bcirast and Co mdcn 
ihere w^n n ^mt>l| elut) uf Tii^licrinen*! 
coU, inhubttrd by a hardy cci of tner 
who had (fo'rt inlnm y been brouylil uj 
amid the hiumc of the brcuLing wnvps 
aifld who bot'w no k-ar bttit-inh ihc |iu\v 

(tiOiC fliitJ'M.i o( Ihe M'.' 



th ihe 

* i cnn 50 oiu in my lilile Rhody an' 
lal^c her before she knows \vhe(e she is. 
Now will yon help me?' 

* rir toiler jer, capunn, ef you go lew 
ihundcr.' wa* J;il»?'6 li'-aty response, as 
lie^rwlhe old n:an was in earnest. 

Cjpi. Nightingale look his mate by 
lie arm, and led him oX The nislii 
ins dnilt, but stilt there waj n busy 
ccnc on board ihc schooner rhpr.ly, 
ihlcli was ihc; Ii?avc-t filling vcEi-cl in 
lie pbce. Torches ueve gleaming 10 
nd fro all nighl long, hammers ond 
aws wore sending forih their mn-^ic, 
nd when the morning dawned, Uie Rho- 
dy wns rendy for sea, iho old iron sig- 
npl z^>n was holscd 00 board, ond 
placalona niilc so.l of carriage mii'- 
.-hips iljccodlme biuKeis and b:iii bo^os 
had been elc;»icd ^-iv.iy. pimI irl.c I-rr nil 
in all. vbeUrc fo.ne f. iiu re embVncc 
10 :*ii embf^o pimio or privaiuPr. 

^^he vvas'mannscd by inclvcmcn, of 
whomJabe ILxLins loolc command.— 
The peop'e 'wondetfd where Cr.pl. 
\l3h:i..-j!o «;.i, Oui J;iL.e set l.'ic-r 
hciTUal rcn by telling ibcm he would 



take y 
baps, y 

The srVoqne: v o' .^Tcbed fore and 
aft, but all '..lal eoyid .-a found were a 
dozen old pi'slois, nrd. aboul es many 
swords, whiAifcre o fee cabin, while 
in ihe ■Jo'u liiey d-.^cov, red De'hmg but 
on ai-av of empty bo.\cs^nd barrel^. — 
The Englishman (eli ic»wc of his oah 

own »ess«), leading ibo«ihe' six under 
• be charge of the ofBcer who bad been 
appointed to ibe command of tbe Rhody, 
and gave ordeis Uiat ibe schooner 
should be'liuw close io bis woke during 
the Disht,'«'»-he intended to see her 
safely out tfT.Soch of the Yankee co^st- 

Dntil nine o'clock at aigbt tbe Hbo- 
dy stood after tbe e ipper, with "all sails 
Set, wbi'e the tatter only carried her 
maintain *^:ltno jibs Tbt sit Yan- 
kees wlin*-'. A been leil on board were 
secured iom '-'J'ong boat, tvLi'e tbe Licu- 
teoant in command and five of his men 
had the first watch, when ihe clipper 
^Iruek two bells, the vessels were not 
rooc than two cable's length npan, the 
pri/c being a little to the windwoid, 
owjn; to her bad sailing, ihe Lieuten- 
antvvished to Uep the ive.illier {.uage. 
Tlio night was quite dark, and ihcw.n.l, 
which had fallen some since sundown, 
bad veered slightlv to th ■ northward. 
. Wliile the prize-mast- r was earnestly 
engaged in keeping up w 



aptnr, while ihe bnld lish- 
...i.lyall couched bcieaih 



• T. II lite 
k.ik.anill 
ve lbri.>« 



the 



pnnipbreaks over- 
nanl looked first at 



]'lie ponr II 

■ »lern face ofihc old man, and ll'cn 
the i,iii,;:le of the pistol, am! then 
e'chinghis lungs Co ibe ut^osf, olie'-- 
iSe order. . ' 

■ NnwtefftSWliu 



?a7e to, and you 
n along side.' 

The tnghtened ofiirer obeyed ar 
c next wToinent the clipper's bel 
dnwn, and her main 



pui 

hove to ^vil 






aid. 



of the Yankee fishermen were 
^lotioned at the lee-rail, with stout grop. 
Logs in their hands, and m levi ihan 
tne minutes llie Rhody's bowsprif loom, 
ed over ihe clipper's weather quarter. 
Ooed shoved the helm down, and the 
next instant she lay broadside to the 
I Upper, when Capl. Nightingale and all 
bis men rushed on board, armed to the 
loeth.— The cainmanderof ihe clipper 
rallied his men for the fight, but being 
taken hy surprise, they were soon over- 
nowereiJ, bound and thrust under the 
bairhe«. except the officers, who after 
being disarmed were allowed their liber- 
ty ripon the vessel. 

' A;icr the affray was over, Capl. 
Nightingale approached the Captain of 
the clipper who was raving with evcit^- 
roeni.— • Wal. Cap'n, what J've' think 
now ahoui taking' us into Halifax'' 
I'he only lejily he received was a eurs- 
io-. for what he called a • contemptable 
Yankee trick.' 

The clip|.er was taken into Penob- 
,cot Bof. her nlTirers and crew handed 
(Tver (1? prisufier.s ol war. ami filled out 
Ii(riSrne'B5«u-Aiticrie«iT-pii»««-«i''*l» 
sailed in her lor several years in that 
lapacity, and when peace was officially 
announced, he retired lo his humble 
borne, having captured a large number 
of Engli.-h merchantmen, richly laden, 
during his various cruises, by which he 
and his brave companions' became 
weallhv, some ofwiiom yet live io quiet 
allluence, within sight of ihe place where 
the clipper was captured. 



till Ibe 



inn 



• nadir 



but 1 



).n you 



ordered from your doors; and I ha'i- 
now the same halird tooppre« ion I had 
then: and were it my bi meal. I •: nm 
eat or d,.nl, m a l.ou-e beloo' in» to so 
hc-anlessascoundrel.' 

• Centlemen,' -aid he •■■■u--^fll\o hi. 
frieniU.' I beg ptrdoii fiir lu«.mwil,rptiV ; 
but were I lo dii'e uiid-r (h- roof of ibis 
liine-r-rvi,,g. gold lov 1.7 Iru;/., u;. ^,„ 
inouiliful I am sN.e^eWrt-t:,,,,^..,^^ , 

ITciii kvjii li'.. wo d. aod the parly aa- 



r hoKl. 



5 being enar 
; of the boards i 
a pan of n suii 



. the fcbc 



rdid. 



the = 



of ri.lei 



iiddle aged 1 



iiiiple, Ol.ai, he 1 
Captain Niglinn!; 
ibcre a mail Uii 
■lie |»M he h.-M L 



sea,a„Uocci.pyl|. 
mnng ihem, was 
auii-d Liioch Nigh 
IS genvfally culk-i 



In an hcur after davlighl ibe libody 
hove lip her anchor and in.idc sail, and 
ill le-s (bin five hours she poked her 
hlunl nose in-otbr waters of the btncAl- 
lanlic. SI nrdv afier ll.c iclmoner bad 
passed Wl.iic fleadl'glii llie E .3I1M11-.11 
w.is made OUI, abouiiwoin-le^di.l.iiillo 
lire soiiih id ami v.csi'rd just olf il-e 
ledge-, and lijulcd his sheets afl, J-ibe 



■Jil l.i 



be 



lined by 
i-iielaleu 
,iid aihli 
hy.sical mould. U.ld 

11 bU svcial leiai.oni 
llnbukiirn-l He », 



, his 



id li.ile... .IS llu 

A and geileluu. 

M beloved by 

jull, ler 



all t 



lle-ll frolMlhe 
.-lood olf ic 
i looked I.I.e 
1, ^n Ihe Ki.; 

cr,ui-nlli ihc 



I opt 



ind,ivl.ic'i 



ril n.id ca-..'.il, 

i:''",!'-'rr.i'; 

i.j.i iho.iijb.-iaii,: 

e, .-nd though .-be 
iiiiiiM not be lung 



the hold 
seemed ti 

floor, was lifieil fiom its: lace and the 
bead of old Captain Enoch Nightingale 
appeared ibrouoh the ajerlure. In a 
ii'onicnl more, another toard was re- 
uioveJ, and ere long foitj stout fislier- 
men, all well armed, had come up from 
their place of concealment, ll was but 
a momcni's woik to leap on drib and 
ere the ihundcrsirnclt lieuicnanl couM 
sec fioin whence came Ihc ctiriny, he 
w.is bound hand and loot and so were 
bis men, while the poor prisoner., were 
set Irec liom ibc long boat. Obed 
Nigb.lii-Jie look the helm, and his 
laihcr poi.iii.ig n coikej p'slol at ibc 
bead ul lie English officer said :— ' 
'Do vou Ihiii'i wo aicJQ curowf.or 





Kcan aitii tke Vtiilic 


,. 


While playiof 


at E.Ncier, i 


a England, 


the 


beiglii of 


bis popula 


ily, Kean 


as 11 


vited to din 
of th-; pr^n 


cipal hotels. 


He drove 


ere 




age. Thed 


inner was 


101 


need, the 1 


ble sumptuously deco- 






ndlord all 


bows and 






g that the 


genllencn 






guishrd vi 


nor found 




Ihin-' to their salisfacli 


n. 




„ sinred at 


liinforsom 


•• moments. 



' ll is,Illr.Kean; 1 have bad the honor 

of mceliiig you before-' 
■ Kept some years 



mall lav 



in the 



iskii-lsotlbc 



not i 



I'd ibl.lk JO 



•Scoipionahoy,'bl.ou 
ant, as if for de.ir lile. 

In the mean lime ihr 
been lei nfl a lililu iii'oit 



c' replied ibc 

L-d liie licutcD- 

Vanl. 
than 



i did. Mr. Kean. Foitune has U-cn 
kind 10 lio.htf us since ihen. I recol- 
lect you, sir, when you bclongril lo our 
tlieairc licre.' 

•And I. sir,' said Kean, jumping up, 
recoHiCl JOB '- Many ycom ago I come 
I vonrpalirylrvcrn, afiera long jour- 
ney 'wiilin siiirering wife and a sick 
child, all of us «el to ibe -kin. 1 asked 
lor a morsel of refreshment, yon 



in 



a do; 



refii-cd I 
until yo. 



nd 
an bamh 



1 bad 1 



THE 5>C.\.NUAL MONtfER. 
Who is there, ihal at some pcrid of 
their life, has not suffered from ibe ven- 
om of the scandal monger? who has not 
fell a shadow falling upon their liean, as 
dark as liie darkest shadnw Iheir fotto 
would e-asl in the silnlighl, and hive 

hidden enemy was at work 10 iheir dis 
may? Thai friend, should give ear to 
'hese calumnies— that friends should, 
have so Uttoaffi-narity cs lo b"lcive in 
these vile aspersions, is the mot woful 
point of all.' In reading "Eanie-l Lin 
wood." the following gem, worthy of a 
place upon every heart, situck me as 
being approprictc to the subjcclj and 
worth a setting by il3elf a..j.„.4k. 

Tiiaj iayr Who are »vn.v.n;i .(-,' mid- 
niglil as.:a^sios of repul»nc\5m"no^urk in 
the by-lanes of society, with dagger Ion 
goes, sharpened by invention and enven- 
omed by malice, to draw the bioud of in- 
nocence, and, bj-ena-like, banquet on 
Ihe dead! ino jre //;'■-• O tiK^t,\ 
world skulker' ..i.f me li- bo'd br-and_. 
•Bo tDunuefs aiongn»^^-nirtys-wllb 
flashing weapon, ihat cuts tbe sunbeam 
as well as the shade! give mc Ibe pirate 
who unfurls Ihe black fiaai„emblem of 
his terrable trade, and sho'.'i'<f(ir»e plank 
which your doomed foot mut/r otad; but 
save me from the ihey-iayerr of society, 
whose knives are hidden "1d a velvet 
ahealb, whose bridge of death is woven 
of flowers, and w bo spread with invisible 
poisen even the spotless whiteness Of 
ihe winding slieel!" 

Is not thai to the poioi? — V-nion. 



A pedler, callnig on an old lady to dls- 
pose of aome goods, inquired ol her if 
she could tell him of any road tbal no 
pedler had ever travelled. ."VeJ, I 
know of one, and only one, which Do 
pedler has ever irnvelled, (the pedler's 
conntenancc hrighieoed,) and ihai'a the 
road to heaven." 



A lawyer had his head n^easured for 
a wig, when the functionary e.vrlaiined, 
•• Why, how long your head i., sir!"— 
'• Yes," vrtS ihe reply, "vvc law-yers mnsl 
have loog headsl" Tlic wig-ni.,ker pro- 
ceeded, when he suddcii'y exdaiiaeJ. 
■■Why. sir. your head isaa ihictasil a 
long !" 

A man advertises for a person l« «ll 
a neiv inidiC'ne, and adds ibat it will 
be round profi-.ablc to ihe vntiertaltr. 

Cent, ill l.otel dinner table — -Waitei 
bung lue a pl.ne of Hies and a plale 01 



1 left my family by your mhospiia 

side, while 1 sought fur lodging-. ' 

retain > yO" O'dered mc like a bi 

ak? iho wile and brat liom- yo 

and nbii.-cd me fur iioi ipcut 

ll. the rioney 1 b id got for fo 

.cas>ou.ay,baidoi.,son,eib 

both since llico ; bui yon mc ■ 

c had Ithe samel >ce— the s.imc cringing «r 

cable's fiiii, tfccdy money bui.ur. 1 ur, i 



':?r 



I p.efer 



«ll." 



buue 

A Beig OoiiM ihi.iLi be has ttnikt 

secrel of producing a blue dahlia, for 
which a large |.ii/e 'la. lor a Ions lime 
been o6e red. 



The 



.' III! 



,s ibji uever be* 
y of tbe Lenevo- 

buclici'> borso 



NEWSPAPERS. 885 

a steeple ? When there was but one minister to " break the bread of 
life " to all classes ; teaching his way to Heaven ? Do you remember 
the pastures where the cattle once grazed in their quietness ; not 
thinking a railroad was slumbering in their path ? Do you remember 
Ell Pond where the pickerel so tempted the plowman's boy ; and from 
whose depths the salt rheum doctor took many a turtle of monstrous 
size, to prop his inner man ? And do you remember when, way back 
of the fatherest uplands, where the rattlesnakes were molested but few 
times during the year, where lived an old negro who was a boy in the 
Indian War, and who died, as near as could be ascertained, at the 
advanced age of one hundred and sixteen years ? The footing of it 
two and a half miles to the post-ofifice ? The day's journey to Boston 
and back ? 

Not a single store-keeper's firm, as now existing, appears in 
its columns; the nearest approach to any business existing 
being that of Bugbee & Howard, now Bugbee & Barrett, We 
then had a "Melrose Temperance Saloon," in Boardman's 
Block, Essex Street. There was also an account of the pre- 
sentation of a silver cake basket and spoons to Miss Sarah F. 
Norris, soprano, and a Bible to Mr. George Newhall — our 
Town Treasurer for twenty-seven years — chorister, by the 
First Baptist Society. 

The Melrose Journal. The next local paper to be pub- 
lished in the interest of Melrose affairs, was the Melrose Journal, 
which was established December lo, 1870, by Henry C. Gray. 
This was the first weekly paper. From the salutatory: "We 
need not assure our readers that we intend to make of this a 
live paper. We shall print no other; we would have our name 
at the head of no other." At this time the paper was printed 
for three different towns, with proper name for each town: 
Stoneham Sentinel, Reading Chronicle and Melrose Journal; 
the work being done in Stoneham. Mr. Gray was alone until 
October 19, 1872, when he formed a co-partnership with L. S. 
Metcalf, who, in a few year became the sole proprietor, Mr. 
Gray going to Maiden to assume the ownership of the Maiden 
Mirjvr. October 2, 1875 ^ rival paper appeared: The Melrose 
Record, George M. Ray and J. W. Mclntyre, proprietors. This 
had but a short life, expiring April 29, 1876. Meanwhile the late 
William L. Williams had become connected with the Joiiryial 
as editor. Mr. Metcalf sold the paper in May, 1876, to Messrs. 
G. A. Kimball & Co., during which year the work was done in 
the Waverley Building, on the corner of Essex and West 



386 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Emerson Streets. Several changes took place between the 
years 1876 and 1878, the owners being respectively Walter R. 
Phillips, Joseph P. Baker and A. J. Hoyt; the office being re- 
moved from the Waverley Block to Boardman's Block, Main 
Street, its present quarters. 

When Mr. Hoyt assumed control, Mr. Baker started a rival, 
The Me/rose Weekly Visitor, February 16, 1878. Mr. Hoyt was 
unsuccessful and Mr. Baker continued the Visitor until July 
26, 1879, when the paper was sold to Messrs. George W. 
Reynolds and Aubrey W. Dunton, and the old name Melrose 
Journal resumed. Messrs. Reynolds & Dunton continued to 
issue the paper until August i, 1880, when the partnership was 
dissolved, and Mr. Reynolds continued as the proprietor until 
February 23, 1884, when he sold out to William L. Williams. 
Mr. Williams died January 12, 1888, and was succeeded by his 
son, Leonard F. Williams, who continued until March 16, 1889, 
when W. B. Howe became the proprietor. He remained the 
proprietor until May 10, 1890, at which time Charles H. 
Adams purchased the plant, and he still remains publisher 
and proprietor with David G. Davidson, manager, carrying on 
a job and book printing business in connection with the news- 
paper. 

After an absence of several years, Mr. Dunton returned to 
Melrose and associated himself with Samuel G. Potter, who 
had been foreman of the yonrnal, and under the firm name of 
Dunton & Potter, established themselves as job printers, and 
began the issue of a new weekly newspaper. The Melrose 
Reporter. The first number was issued Octobtn- 8, 1887; and 
from that day both papers ha\-e made their welcome vveekl\- 
visits to the citizens of Melrose. As has the Journal, so has 
the Reporter carried on book and job printing from the date 
when first established; and for many years the Annual Town 
and City Reports have been printed at the Reporter office. 
November i, 1899, the Daily Reporter was established. It 
continued during the period of transition from Town to City, 
giving full reports of nominations, elections, and the inaugura- 
tion of the new city government. January 15, 1900, it was 
suspended. October i, 1900, the firm of Dunton & Potter was 
dissolved by the retirement of Mr. Potter, and Ralph H. Wilbur 
became a partner under the firm name of A. W. Dunton & Co. 

On the 15th of November, 190 1, a new weekly paper was 



NEWSPAPERS. 387 

established by Samuel G. Potter, formerly of Dunton & Potter, 
publishers of the Reportei'. As its name indicates, the Melrose 
Free Press has no subscription list, but is given free to the 
citizens, being sustained by its advertisements. Thirty-four 
hundred copies are printed and distributed each week. Its 
legend is "A Newspaper for Everybody." Among other things 
in its "Greeting," it said: 

We intend to make the Free Press valuable, not only as an advertis- 
ing medium, but we feel that it will be sought after as a good local 
newspaper without price. . . . We believe in the advancement of 
Melrose in every way, and will strive to advocate those things which 
are for the greatest good to the greatest number. 

The Press has adopted a unique feature for each issue. A 
cartoon, vividly depicting some local political issue, striking 
feature, existing evil, or public want, is given. The cartoonist 
is Arthur M. Blackstone. 

As an aid and adjunct to the educational interests of the 
schools of Melrose, a monthly magazine has been established, 
the first number of which was issued in January, 1900. It is 
called HigJi School Life, and is edited by the pupils of the 
High School, from year to year. The contributions are by the 
pupils, aided by the teachers and superintendent. These are 
not onl)^ interesting, but highly beneficial ; creating and 
encouraging a love for writing, aiding largely their study of 
composition and rhetoric, ability of expression, and the form- 
ing of a general and uplifting love of literature. 

March 29. 1902, two young schoolboys, Merritt and James 
A\'ard, publishers and editors, thinking there was still room in 
the newspaperdom of Melrose for another visitor, issued a new 
monthly called The Enterprise. It is a small affair, but shows 
enterprise in effort as well as name. One of the cardinal 
principles in its salutatory was : 

Locally we shall always do what is in our power for the election of 
the person for office whom we think the most capable and honest, 
regardless of politics whatever. 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS. 

MELROSE is fortunate in having a well-organized and 
fully equipped Fire Department. It possesses good 
engines, good hose carriages, good quarters, and good 
men to care for and protect our city, which is not niggardly in 
its appropriations for fire purposes; consequently our firemen 
are ever alert, doing their best to save property at every alarm ; 
and for years past we have had no large fires. The most 
destructive fire we ever had was over thirty-one years ago, 
when nearly all the stores and dwellings on the west side of* 
Main Street, between Foster and Essex Streets, including 
Lyceum Hall, were destroyed. This occurred August 20, 1870,. 
six days only before the Spot Pond water system was ready 
for use. The next most destructive one took place November 
30, 1875, when Concert Hall and Boardman's Block, on the 
corner of Main and Essex Streets, were burned. 

The first fire-engine stationed in North Maiden, was " The 
Endeavor," bought by the Town of Maiden in 1846. The 
engine house, recently destroyed, was situated on Main Street, 
a little way north of the First Baptist Church. Before the 
engine house was built the engine was kept in a barn which 
stood north of the Methodist Church, at the junction of Main 
and Green Streets, near where now stands the house of William 
H. Wells. At the time Melrose was incorporated and for 
many years after, this was the only fire protector in use. 
When new fire apparatus was purchased, the old Endeavor was 
cast aside; and for many years it was stored in the basement 
of the City Hall. It was finally purchased by John W. 
Farwell,^ and is now in use at his mills in Lewiston, Maine. 

^ November II, 1890, it was voted: such portion of the proceeds as 

That the Selectmen be authorized may be deemed necessary for the 

to dispose of the old Endeavor en- building of a shed in the town 

giue and the town hearse, and use pound. 



FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS. 



389 



For the 250th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Town 
of Maiden, Mr. Farvvell kindly allowed the "Old Endeavor" 
to be brought to Melrose, and it was drawn in the procession, 
May 23, 1898, manned by a company organized for the occa- 
sion, as noted in the account of that celebration. 

There was in use for a number of years, another engine 
stationed^on Washington Street, on the old " Jabe Lynde" place, 
as is seen b\' the following : 




THE OLD ENDEAVOR. = 

Melrose, October 21, 1869. 
Permission is hereby granted to Joseph Grundy, Jr., to form a 
private fire association, to man the engine upon his premises. 

J. C. Currier, 
J. U. Wilde, 
Levi S. Gould, 

Selectmen of Melrose. 



- This picture of the old Endeavor 
was reproduced from a faded 
da<^uerrotype now in possession of 
the Fire Department; evidently 
taken soon after its purchase in 
1846 when it was Endeavor No. 3 — 
changed to No. i, after incorpora- 
tion of Melrose — manned by its 



first company, from what is now 
the High School lot, looking across 
Main Street and Dix "Pond, then 
much larger than in recent days, 
extending up to the land of Dr. 
Levi Gould, who lived in the house 
now standing opposite the Metho- 
dist Church. Old residents recog- 



390 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The engine referred to is one that was acquired by Joseph 
Grundy, Sr., when he came into possession of the old brass 
foundry at the " Red Mills," and moved to Melrose in 1866. 
This engine formerly belonged to Charlestown, and its 
trimmings, part of which are now in possession of Edward L. 
Grundy, were from the old Hancock engine. 

The company formed was first called the Grundy Hose Co. 
Then it was the Wyoming Hose Co., and out of that grew the 
present N. D. Blake Hose Co. 

With the view of increasing our facilities for giving alarm in 
cases of fire, and as an improvement on the old system of bell- 
ringing, the following article appeared in the warrant for 
March 5, 1888: 

To see what action the town will take to establish telephonic or 
electrical communication between the outlying districts and the centre 
for fire alarm and police service. 

Sidney H. Buttrick, Walter B. Ellis. A. Wilbur Lynde, John 
Singer, Jr., George T. Brown, John B. Souther and John P. 
Deering were appointed a committee to investigate and report. 
March 26th, this committee reported and the following vote 
was passed : 

That the subject matter of this article be referred to a committee con- 
sisting of the board of selectmen, Royal P. Barry and Sidney H. Buttrick, 
who shall have full power and authority to purchase and cause to be 
constructed, a fire alarm system, which in their judgment shall be 
adequate to the needs of the town, and that the sum of seventeen 
hundred dollars be raised and appropriated for the purposes named. 

This resulted in establishing the Gamewell system of fire 
alarm, which has thus far proven very eilficient and satisfactory. 
The system now consists of thirty-six street boxes, one school 
box, three tower strikers, four gongs, three indicators, and 
twelve tappers, located in different sections of the City. 
About sixty-five miles of wire is required to keep all this 
various electrical apparatus in good working order. In 1901^ 
the gravity battery system then existing was changed to the 
present storage battery system. 

In 1890, a movement was renewed, which had been previously 
defeated, to purchase a steam fire-engine; and on March 24, it 
was voted: 

nize some of the faces ; among Laiiman Green and James G. 
them George Washington Grover, Emerson. 
Philip McMann, Orriu Brown, 



FIRE 'AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS. 



391 



That the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Mr. Walter Babb, 
and the engineers of the tire department be a committee to purchase a 
steam fire-engine with necessary appurtenances, that the sum of four 
thousand five hundred dollars be appropriated therefor, and that the 
treasurer be authorized to pay for the same out of any funds now in 
the treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

This committee purchased a Clapp & Jones, No. 3 machine, 
with a capacity of six hundred gallons per minute. The price 
paid was §3,200. 




CENTRAL FIRE STATION. ^ 

The property of the City for fire purposes, includino- houses 
and apparatus, in charge of the Fire Department, is as follows: 
The Central Fire Station, a handsome brick building, situated 
on Main Street, just north of the City Hall, was built in 1895. 
at a cost of ^20,000 ; and is furnished with all modern improve- 

8 This represents the fire appara- with fire and steam ready, Charles 

tus leaving the station at an alarm W. Edwards, driver; and the Lib- 

of fire : The wagon. Dean T. Stock- erty Bigelow Hook and Ladder Co., 

well, driver; the engine. No. i, James Waldo Emerson, driver. 



892 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

merits, making it one of the best equipped fire stations in the 
Commonwealth. 

It is occupied by the Steamer and Hose Co. No. i, Charles 
F. Woodward, Captain; the Liberty Bigelow Hook and Lad- 
der Co., No. I, which carries two hundred and fifty feet of 
ladders and appurtenances, Harry R. Norton, Captain, and 
the N. D. Blake Hose Co., No. 2, Robert Gibbons, Captain. 
For many years this company occupied a room in the Masonic 
Temple Building, on the corner of Main Street and Wyoming 
Avenue ; but in 1901, that location was discontinued, and it is 
now housed in the Central Fire Station. For the Engine and 
Hose Wagon, four horses and fifteen men are required ; 
for the Hook and Ladder Co., three horses and fifteen men ; 
and for Hose No. 2, one horse and eight men. 

The Highlands Hose Co., No. 3, Frank H. Cheever, Captain, 
occupies its station on Franklin Street, Melrose Highlands, 
and requires one horse and eight men. The William E. Barrett 
Hose Co., No. 4, Charles E. McKinnon, Captain, occupies its 
house on East Foster Street, and requires one horse and eight 
men. 

The principal officers of the Fire Department as at present 
organized, are as follows: A. Wilbur Lynde, Chief Engineer; 
Joseph M. Holbrook, Assistant Engineer and Clerk; and 
William F. Simpson, Assistant Engineer. The amount appro- 
priated by the City for the Fire Department for 1902, was 
^11,500. 

The Police Department. The Police Department of Mel- 
rose is composed of a well-organized, vigilant, and efficient 
body of men, under the management of its Chief, Frank M. 
McLaughlin, who has held that position since 1884. The 
present force is composed of the following men: Permanent 
force; Frank M. McLaughlin, Chief, Osborne E. Drown, Wil- 
liam A. Caswell, Redford M. Rand, William C. McCarthy, 
Louis B. Heaton, George E. Fuller, Harry Brown, Allston H. 
Pineo, William H. Doherty, Christopher B. Thompson, and 
Frank N. Pierce. Special officers; Charles J. Wing, James H. 
Maine, John J. Hinds, A. Wilbur Lynde, Edgar E. Sherburne, 
Elvin C. Slocomb, Patrick F. Murray, Michael J. Hanley, 
Jerome T. Smith, and Arthur L. Brigham. Constables, George 
W. Burke, William L. Pierce, P^rank M. McLaughlin and 
Osborne E. Drown. Bail Commissioner, Sidney H. Buttrick. 



FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS. 393 

There is a State Police Association of which our officers are 
members; and January 12, 1902, the Melrose Police Associa- 
tion was organized, the object of which is social intercourse, 
protection to its members, and aid to the sick and suffering. 
One object this Association has in view is to raise a sufficient 
sum of money, by ball and concert, with which to buy a fully 
ecjuipped hospital ambulance, and present the same to the City 
of Melrose for the general use of its citizens, in any and all 
emergencies. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CITY HALL, CLOCKS AND SEALS. 

IN 1873, the Town voted to build a new Town Hall on the 
corner of Main and Essex Streets, where then stood the 
residences of George Newhall and Mrs. Mary Dix, at a 
cost of 593,675 ; 528,675 for the land, 44,934 square feet, and 
$65,000 for the building. This was at a time when money bore 
a high rate of interest, and twenty year bonds were issued by 
the Town for the cost of the building, with interest, at the 
rate of seven per cent, per annum; at maturity $20,000 of that 
amount was paid and new bonds issued for $45,000, with 
interest at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum. These bonds 
mature September i, 1912, The building committee were the 
Selectmen, Daniel Russell, John H. Clark and George F. 
Stone, and George W. Heath, and Francis S. Hesseltine. The 
Hall was not finished until the following year, when the formal 
exercises of dedication took place June 17, 1874, when the 
principal address was made by George F. Stone, then a resident 
of our town, but now Secretary of the Board of Trade,. 
Chicago, 111. 

From the very excellent and appropriate address of Mr. 
Stone, it is well to introduce here two or three sentences : 

As the future historian may trace your municipal life and set in 
order the steps of your growth, he shall find in the record certain 
prominent facts which shall afford unmistakable evidence of your 
character, reveal the spirit by which you were animated and which 
was the secret of your favorable development. Among the salient 
points none will stand out with greater clearness and significance than 
the accomplishment of your purpose to build this Hall; its direct, and 
its indirect influences, will then be more clearly seen and its import- 
ance be more clearly realized than by the light of this hour. 

It will I think then be recorded that from this time there seemed to 
be a marked improvement in your social and material aspect — your 
ambition was quickened — your public spirit was everywhere apparent, 
and from this time an enthusiastic desire to discharge every obligation 
of citizenship seemed to possess the inhabitants. 




MKLROSE CITY HALIv 



39(3 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

To fail to properly embrace this opportunity, you would retard our 
growth and hinder our prosperity. To my mind it was a critical 
moment in our history and committed this community irrevocably to 
an enlightened and progressive policy. Individual enterprise and 
stability of citizenship were trembling in the balance and your saga- 
cious decision secured all. Property holders before desirous to sell 
and others quite indifferent decided to hold and develope, private 
interest and enterprise were infused with a new zeal, and men at once 
looked around to discover how they might bring under the benign 
sway of this assured policy, the natural advantages which an indulgent 
providence had vouchsafed. It is safe to afifirm that more plans for 
the development of your resources were born in the hour of }'our de- 
cision to build this structure, than at any previous epoch in your 
municipal life, not only on account of the work itself, but also be- 
cause of the assurance thereby implied, that what you had done should 
be made to confer its fullest and richest benefits. Apathy was 
changed into a lively interest, and a passive policy into an animated 
desire to become what by every consideration of situation and intel- 
ligence, we should be, practical, experienced and shrewd men of busi- 
ness; the reflecting and educated citizen as well, quickly discerned 
the drift of this measure, and our largest real estate owners, alert and 
keen to perceive results, lent the proposition their instant and liberal 
support. So manifest was this step for the general good and so diffuse 
were its effects, that all classes instantly caught its significance and 
none were more strenuous in its support than the extremely prudent 
and conservative. . . . Narrow-minded and mistaken is that policy, 
Avhich in its zeal for small taxes, shuts up every avenue of improve- 
ment, ignores the requirements of the times, and so defeats and 
frustrates the very object in view. Under such a policy valuation is 
kept down, population of the desirable sort is reduced and excluded, 
and that which is so absolutely essential to growth and success is 
crushed out — viz: the spirit of enterprise. . . . We had reached a 
point in the history of our affairs when it was vital for our best inter- 
ests to erect this Hall ; it was an important link in a chain of improve- 
ments, conceived, it must be admitted, in wisdom and liberality, with- 
out which previous enteiprise would be deprived of its full fruits. 
. . . Happily, fellow citizens, your public measures have been con- 
trolled by an enlightened purpose, and hence the prosperity and 
growth of Melrose is assured beyond the possibility of recall. . . . 
With these considerations we may perhaps arrive at some conception 
of the significance of this hour as we dedicate this Hall to the sublime 
rights of American citizenship — to lofty patriotism — to courageous ac- 
tion — to sympathetic endeavor — to the equal rights of all classes and 
of both sexes^to an unsullied public morality, and to an unfaltering 
allegiance to Him who controls alike the destinies of individuals and 
nations. . . . 



CITY HALL. CLOCKS AND SEALS. 397 

The City Hall is a brick structure with brown-stone trim- 
mings, of handsome architectural design, with a large hall and 
convenient internal arrangementsfor city purposes. For many 
years the Melrose Public Library and Reading Room occupied 
two of its rooms on the lower floor, and until the Young Men's 
Christian Association erected its fine building on Main 
Street, when the Town leased the Library's present quarters 
at an annual rental of $i,ooo. The Melrose Savings Bank also 
occupied the southwest corner room on the Essex Street side 
for seventeen years, when it removed to its present Banking 
Room in Newhall's Block. No. 541 Main Street. Now all 
the different departments of the City Government are accom- 
modated and have ofifices in the City Hall Building. 

The clock which adorns the tower was the gift of the Hon. 
Uaniel Russell ; and the vane was given by the late William 
Bailey; and the clock on the front of the gallery in the hall 
was given by John W. Farwell. 

The large and handsome vase, always kept beautiful with 
flowers, in their season, standing on the lawn on the Essex 
Street side of the City Hall lot, was placed there through the 
kindly efforts of the Melrose Improvement Society, which 
has done in the past so muCh in beautifying our city, in setting 
out, caring for and protecting our trees, and in freeing our 
highways of rubbish. 

In 1901, after a constant use of twenty-seven years, the 
Board of Aldermen appropriated $5,800 for much needed re- 
pairs; $1,100 for repairing and painting the tower and other 
outside woodwork, and $4,700 for the renovation of the Audi- 
torium and ante-rooms. New floors were laid, ceilings and 
walls re-frescoed, electric lights introduced, the arch over the 
stage changed for the better, and new settees provided; the 
whole forming a much ne(tded improvement. 

The Flag Staff. July 4, 1898, a very handsome flag staff, 
which had been erected on the corner of Main and Upham 
Streets, opposite City Hall, was dedicated with appropriate- 
addresses by Sidney H. Buttrick. Chairman of the Board of 
Selectmen, George R. Jones, Levi S. Gould and George A. 
Smith, President of the Massachusetts Senate. The pole, in 
two parts, is one hundred and twenty feet high, surmounted 
with a gilt ball. P^om it a new flag was flung to the breeze 



398 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Its cost was about $500, which amount was raised largely by 
the active effort of William N. Mellen. 

Clocks. The first town clock was placed on the tower of 
the old original Orthodox Congregational Church. It was 
purchased by subscription, of Messrs. Howard & Davis, and 
one of the most active of the subscribers was the late William 
Bogle. The original contract^ reads as follows: 

This agreement made and concluded this Twenty-fifth day of May, 
A. D. eighteen hundred and forty-nine, by and between David L. 
Webster, Jeremiah Martin, William Bogle, Samuel E. Sewall and 
Benjamin F. Abbott, Trustees of the Melrose Town Clock, of the one 
part, and Jonathan Cochran and John Mclntire, a Committee duly 
chosen by the Melrose Orthodox Congregational Society, to act for 
and in behalf of said Society, of the other part, Witnesseth: 

That the said Trustees, in consideration of one dollar to them paid 
by the said Society, and of the promises of said Society hereinafter 
mentioned, promise and agree to and with said Society, that they will 
place the Melrose Town Clock upon the Steeple of the Church be- 
longing to said Society, and will continue the same upon the said 
Church, so long as said Society shall keep the promises and agree- 
ments, hereinafter mentioned, on their part to be performed and kept. 
And the said Society hereby promises and agrees to and with the 
said Trustees, that they may place the said clock upon the steeple of 
the said Church, and that the said clock shall be and continue the 
property of said Trustees. Also that they will keep said clock in 
good running order. Also that they will keep said clock insured, in a 
sum not less than three hundred dollars, payable to said Trustees, in 
such office as they shall approve, also that said Trustees, their agent 
or attorney, shall have the right to enter said church, and remove said 
clock in case ot a breach of any of the above promises or agreements 
on the part of said Society, provided the same shall not be repaired, 
A\ithin reasonable time, after notice of such breach shall have been 
given to any officer of said Society. In witness whereof we have 
hereunto subscribed our names on the day and year above written. 

JoNA Cochran. 

John McIntire. 

William Bogle. 

Benj. F. Abbott. 

This document bears evidence that the name — Melrose — 
had been adopted and come into common use, some time 
before the town was finally incorporated, May 3, 1850. 

1 Given nie several years ago by Mr. Boj^le. 



CITY HALL, CLOCKS AND 5EALS. 



899 



This clock did duty until 1858, when the church was remod- 
elled and enlarged. The Town then bought a new one of the 
Turret and Marine Clock Co., at a cost of $300, which was 
placed upon the steeple under similar conditions as the first 
one had been, the parties being the Town and Society instead 
of the former Trustees. After a period of ten years' service, 
this clock was destroyed when the church edifice was burned, 
February 17, 1869. 

The third clock was bought by the Town, April ii, 1870, 
when S550 was appropriated for a Howard clock to be placed 
on the steeple of the new Melrose Orthodox Congregational 
Church, providing that the Society will agree to take care of 
the same free of expense to the town. The proviso was agreed 
to at a legal meeting of that Society held in Lyceum Hall, 
April 14, 1870; and the clock was purchased by the Town, 
placed thereon, and has since been kept in good running order. 

In 1874 the town was favored with another Howard clock, 
which was placed on the tower of the new Town Hall, by the 
generosity of the Hon. Daniel Russell. In this tower the 
Town placed a large and sweet-toned bell; and as this clock 
keeps most excellent time, we are constantly reminded by its 
striking that 

"Time aud the hour runs through the roughest day." 

Seals. At a Town Meeting held March 6, 1882, it was 
voted: "That Mr. Thomas G. Fielding, Rev. Albert G. Hale, 
Alonzo G. Whitman, William Bogle and Elbridge H. Goss, be 
a committee to consider the 
matter of providing a design for 
a Town Seal." On November 
15, the Committee reported in 
favor of a seal which was de- 
signed by Mr. Fielding, one 
of the committee, which was 
adopted by the Town. Mr. 
Fielding not only designed it, 
but he had one made ready for 
use, and presented it to the 
Town; for which he received a 
unanimous vote of thanks. 




400 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Its symbolism is explained by Mr. Fielding as follows: 

The roses of New England and the thistles of Scotland, in an 
elaborated circle, is significant of strength and union, as in the motto 
of the United States, — " E pluribus iinum,'''' — one formed from many 
parts. The male and female figures, with bee hive between, typify an 
industrious people. The hat in hand, true politeness and civilization. 
Rose and book, purity of thought and cultivation of intellect. The 
motto, " Pons et origo,'''' indicates that the Abbey of the Scottish 
Melrose is the source and origin of the Town's name. The clasped 
hands, within the date of incorporation, signify that the citizens of 
Melrose always give the grip of a true and friendly welcome. The all 
seeing eye is the industrious man's Overseer, and the rays of light 
emanating therefrom symbolize His approval when the labor is over 
and the work well done. 

After using this seal for a dozen years, and dissatisfaction 
with its design having been expressed, a committee on a " New 
Town Seal" was appointed March 26, 1894, consisting of Levi 
S. Gould, Edward K. Bordman, George Newhall, Rev. Albert 
G. Bale, and Elbridge H. Goss. That committee reported a 
design, which was unique, and of a local and historical charac- 
ter; but for some reason, the Town did not adopt it. It 
embodied the date our territory was first explored, 1628, the 
fact that it was originally a part of Charlestown, 1629, that the 
name it was first known by, " Pond Feilde," which was given 
it as early as 1638, as duly recorded in the C/iarlestozvii Book of 
Possessions, that after Maiden was incorporated in 1649, '^ was 
known as Maiden North End, and that it was incorporated as 
Melrose, in 1850. It had a view of Ell Pond in its centre. 

At a Town Meeting held 
April II, 1898, the following 
vote was passed: 

That the Moderator be author- 
ized to fill all vacancies on the 
Committee for a Town Seal, and 
that the same report at a meeting 
this year. 

As Rev. Albert G. Bale of 
that Committee had removed 
from town, Charles H. Adams 
was appointed in his place 
and at a meeting held August i, Mr. Adams, in behalf of the 




CITY HALL, CLOCKS AND SEALS. 



401 



committee reported a desit^n for a seal, which did not differ 
very materially from the one above described, except that the 
view of the pond was left out of its centre: and the followinj^- 
vote was passed: 

That the report of the committee on town 
seal be accepted and adopted, and that the 
town clerk be authorized to procure the seal. 
That the same be hereafter used upon doc- 
uments and papers requiring the use of a seal. 

When the Board of Water Commis- 
sioners was ori^anized a seal was made 
and used by them on the first and second 
series of water bonds issued. This was 
from a design suggested by the late Hon. 
Samuel E. Sewall. 

The change from town to 
city necessitated a change 
in the of^cial seal; and this 
was authorized by the Board 
of Aldermen, January 24, 
1900. The inscription of the 
new embodied the historic 
points of the old, with an 
additional ring, in which the 
words "City of Melrose, In- 
corporated 1900," were in- 
serted. 





CHAPTER XXV. 

VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 

THE Melrose Savings Bank. This Bank was chartered in 
1872, but owing to the great fire which took place in 
Boston, November 9, 10, of that year it was not organized 
for business until October i, 1874. As has been the town's 
'growth year by year, constantly increasing in population, so 
has it been with the increase of the deposits in this Bank, 
from the ^17,246.05 which it had at the end of the first year 
until the present time, July i, 1902, when the total amount of 
deposits is ^1,020,469.94; and a guaranty fund and interest 
account of 1^64,164.59. The present number of depositors is 

4,741- 

Its first President was Wingate P. Sargent, who served until 
1878, when, going to California for a few years, he resigned and 
was succeeded by the present President, Daniel Russell. Its 
first Treasurer was George A. Mansfield, who served until 
October i, 1875, when he was succeeded by the present Treas- 
urer, Elbridge H. Goss. 

For the first few years the Bank paid its depositors six per 
centum per annum; then for a short time five per cent.; then 
until July i, 1899, four per cent.; from January i, 1900, to 
January i, 1901, three and one-half per cent.; and the last four 
dividends at the rate of three per cent. 

For a number of years the banking room was in the Town 
Hall. It is now in the Newhall Block, No. 541 Main Street. 

The present ofificers are: Daniel Russell, President; Moses 
S. Page, Vice President; John Larrabee, Clerk; P^lbridge H. 
Goss, Treasurer; these four with George Hart, Seth E. Benson, 
Royal P. Barry, William E. Barrett, John W. Farwell, George 
R. Jones, Charles H. Adams, Decius Beebe and Charles C. 
Harry, form the Board of Trustees. Finance Committee, 
Moses S. Page, John W. Farwell and Charles H. Adams. 
Auditors, John Larrabee and Walter I. Nickerson. 



VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 403 

The Melrose National Bank. This was chartered July i, 
1892, with a capital of Sioo.ooo. The Bank opened for busi- 
ness July ii, 1892, with Decius Beebe as President and John 
Larrabee, Cashier. August i, 1893, Mr. Larrabee resigned 
and Walter I. Nickerson, the present Cashier was elected to 
that office. Miss Annie R. Blanchard has been the Teller 
from the date of its organization. The Bank has paid sixteen 
semi-annual dividends, the first being July i, 1895, ■^^^ ^'^ but 
one of which have been at the rate of five per centum per 
annum; the exception being four per cent. It has enjoyed a 
very prosperous business for ten )ears and now has a surplus 
and undivided profits amounting to $50,710. 

The present Board of Directors are: Decius Beebe, Presi- 
dent; Seth E. Benson, Vice President; John Larrabee, John 
P. Deering, Frank Q. Brown, Royal P. Barry, J. Augustus 
Barrett, Frank L. Washburn, Levi .S. Gould, James Mclntyre, 
Charles H. Lang, Jr., Walter H. Roberts, John W. Farwell, 
John W. Robson and Joseph Remick, Directors. 

The Bank has fine quarters in the V. M. C. A. Building on 
Main Street. 

The Melrose Co-operative Bank was chartered April 4, 
1890, and commenced business April 20, same year. It has an 
authorized capital of ;gi,ooo,ooo. Its present officers are: Levi 
S. Gould, President; Jabez S. Dyer, Vice President; John P. 
Deering, Treasurer; Charles G. Schaedel, Secretary; Seth E. 
Benson, Aubrey W. Dunton, Horace ¥.. Child, George M. 
Gray. Stephen A. Lovejoy, Frank K. Upham and Julian C. 
Woodman, Directors; Charles A. Messenger, Harry W. 
Knights and John C. Crolly, Auditors. 

At the twelfth annual meeting held April 11, 1902,3 semi- 
annual dividend oi 2% per cent, was declared. 

Loans are made on first mortgages on real estate, the idea 
of co-operative banks being primarily to aid people in secur- 
ing and owning homes, and money is advanced in instalments 
to build, when desired. Loans are payable in monthly instal- 
ments, the monthly payment on a $1,000 loan being about $\o. 
h>ach shareholder may have from one to twenty-five shares, 
the shares being Si each per month, or nominally $200 each, 
Si being deposited upon c-ach share, until with the earnings 
it amounts to $200, when it is paid in cash. 



404 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Post Offices. Before the Boston and Maine Railroad was 
opened, in 1845, the citizens of North Maiden had to go to 
Maiden Centre for all their mail privileges. Soon after this 
event a change took place, and a Post Master was appointed 
for the North Maiden district in 1846. The first Post Master 
was George W. Barrett, who was also the first depot master. 
The Post Office was in the railroad station. The next Post- 
Master was Hiram Whitney, who established the office in his 
grocery store, which was then in the block formerly standing 
where Benson's Block now is, and which was afterwards 
burned. His successor was Francis Bugbee, and the office was 
then removed to his store, which stood where nowjis situated 
the Bugbee & Barrett Block, corner Main and West Foster 
Streets. Henry A. Norris was his successor and the office was 
then removed to the old Lyceum Hall building, upstairs. 

The next incumbent was Caleb Howard, who established the 
office on Essex Street. At his death. Miss Mary E. Eastman, 
his assistant, was appointed to the office. This was in 1869. 
Miss Eastman died in 1871, and her mother, Mrs. Susan E. 
Eastman was appointed in her place. She built the building 
No. 39 Essex Street, prepared it for a post office, and here it 
remained for many years. In October, 1885, Mrs. Eastman 
was superceded by William L. Williams, who was appointed 
Post Master by President Cleveland. After the death of Mr. 
Williams in 1888, Charles W. Ellison was appointed his suc- 
cessor. During his administration the system of letter carriers 
was introduced for mail delivery. Mr. Ellison retained the 
office until May i, 1897, when be was removed, and the present 
incumbent, Alfred Hocking, was appointed by President 
William McKinley. His commission is dated April 17, 1897, 
but he did not assume the duties of the office until May i. At 
the end of his term he was reappointed, in 1901, for four years. 

The office remained on"] Essex Street until the Barrel I & 
Swett Block was built on Main Street, in 1893. There it re- 
mained until the 1st of September, 1901, when it was removed 
to the Barrett Block, next adjoining, which is much better 
adapted for the proper mail facilities of a growing city. The 
owner, J. Augustus Barrett, piepared this new office in a most 
complete and thorough manner. Its appointments for the 
Post Master and his assistants, and for the letter carriers are of 
first-class order, and every con\'enience for the accommodation 



VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 405 

■of the public has been made; and the U. S. Government has 
entered into a ten years' lease of these new quarters. 

In 1874, a Post Office was established at the Melrose High- 
lands, and John Singer, Jr., was appointed Post Master. It was 
established in his building on P'ranklin Street, where it 
remained until October 25, 1897, when it was made a Station, 
and W. F. Schooff was ap[)ointed clerk-in-charge. April i, 
1898, the Melrose Highlands Station, with free delivery, was 
•established, and Mrs. Lillian D. PMmunds was appointed clerk- 
in-charge. The office is now in Rogers' Block, Franklin Street. 

In 1885, a Post Office was established at the Fells, with 
Charles H. Ormsby as Post Master, with headquarters in 
the Fells Railroad Station. September 15, 1902, a change was 
made and the office was established as Station No. 2, with G. 
Stanley Brown, clerk-in-charge. It is situated on the corner 
of Goodyear Avenue and Main Street. 

April 1, 1901, Station No. i was established in the Crescent 
Pharmacy Drug Store, on the corner of Wyoming Avenue and 
Hurd Street, William S. Briry in charge. The free delivery 
system has now been established throughout our entire City. 

Street Railroads. P'or a quarter of a century the only 
street railroad cars running in Melrose, was the line built by 
the Stoneham Street Railroad Company from the Highlands 
Station, more often in those days called the Stoneham Station, 
to the Stoneham village, which went into operation about 
October i, i860. 

In 1886, the Selectmen voted to allow the compan)', then 
known as the East Middlesex Street Railway Company, to 
<'xtend their rails from the Station through Franklin, Green 
ai-.d Main Streets, to the Maiden line; and the first horse car 
was run over the track October 3, 1887. At the same time 
permission was giv.en to lay spur tracks from the corner of 
Main and Franklin Streets to the Wakefield line, and through 
Howard Street to the Saugus line. This was found to be a 
very great public convenience, well appreciated and patronized. 
A few years later, the privilege of erecting poles for the sup- 
port of the overhead trolley-system having been granted by 
the Selectmen, the road was electrically equipped from 
Melrose to Woburn on July 24, 1892; and from Melrose to 
Chelsea during the season of 1893-94. At this time a double 



406 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

track was laid from Mt. Vernon Street to Maiden line, thus 
connecting with the double line through Maiden. 

May I, 1893 the East Middlesex Street Railway Company 
was leased to the Lynn and Boston Railway Company, which 
originally ran its cars between Lynn and Boston only; but 
which became a great system, branching out in various direc- 
tions. In i8q6 this company built a loop-road known as the 
East Side line. It runs from the Wyoming Depot through 
Berwick, Grove .Sixth, Laurel, Waverley Avenue, Upham, East^ 
Porter, Main to City Hall, and Essex Streets to the Centre 
Station, Melrose. 

In 1897, the Selectmen granted permission for this company 
to lay a double track through Main Street, from Porter Street 
to Maiden line near Island Hill, thus making the double track 
continuous from Porter Street Melrose, to Chelsea. From 
this point. Porter Street, the single track extended through 
Green Street to Main Street, at P'ranklin Square, at the 
junction of Green, Franklin and Main Streets. Since then 
a track has been laid from this Square through Main Street ta 
Porter Street, thus completing by this circuit a double track 
from Franklin Square to Chelsea. 

A few years since the whole system came under the control 
of a Philadelphia syndicate. On the 22nd of July, 1901, the 
Lynn and Boston Railway Company had spread its branches 
in so many directions that the old name was given up; and it 
became the Boston and Northern Railway Company; a change 
in name only, officers and employees remaining the same. 

There are now on the territory of Melrose, railroad tracks,, 
steam and electric, as follows: 1.486 miles electric car lines, 
double track; 5.814 miles electric car lines, single track; 0.102 
miles turnouts; 2,201 miles steam railroad, double track; 5 
grade crossings. 

During the year 1901, an agreement was made between the 
Boston Elevated Railway Company, and the Lynn and Boston 
Street Railway Company — now the Boston and Northern — 
which has resulted in the long talked of, and much desired 
five-cent fare to Boston. The Elevated was allowed to lay an 
additional track in Maiden, through Salem Street, from P'erry 
Street to Maplewood Square; thence a single track through 
Lebanon Street to the Melrose line; and the Boston and 
Northern is to be allowed to run its cars over the tracks of 



VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 407 

the Elevated from Causeway Street through the Subway to 
Scollay Square. This new arrangement went into effect 
August 17, 1901. For years past it has cost our citizens ten 
cents to go to Boston on the electrics changing cars at Maiden; 
now they can go from Stoneham line to Scollay Square, 
Boston, for five cents, and without change of car. 

Petitions have been circulated and freely signed, asking the 
Elevated to extend its tracks from Melrose line through 
Lebanon Street to the junction of Main and Porter Streets, 
w hich will probably be done in the near future. 

The Telegraph. On May 11, 1858, the Atlantic Telegraph 
Company was granted the privilege of erecting their poles and 
construct lines through our Town. That Company was after- 
wards absorbed by the present Western Union. 

The Telephone. In January, 1893, the New England Tele- 
phone and Telegraph Co. established an exchange headquarters 
at No. 514 Main Street, for Melrose patrons. For some time 
previous to that date Melrose subscribers had their service 
rendered through the Maiden exchange. 

Street Lights. Gas was introduced into Melrose in i860, 
by the Maiden and Melrose Gas Light Company;^ and in 
1864 it was used for street lighting purposes, to a limited 
degree. This was continued for a number of years, the number 
of lights being increased gradually. A change was made in 
1873, and the street lights were furnished by the New England 
Gas Company, which was succeeded the next year by the 
Globe Gas Light Company, of Boston, which continued until 
1884, when a portion of the street lighting was done by the 
Wheeler Reflector Company, with kerosene lamps, and a part 
by the Maiden and Melrose Gas Light Company. In 1885, it 
was all furnished by the last two companies. This continued 
until 1887, when a contract was made with the Maiden Electric 

* The Maiden and Melrose Gas O. Dearborn of Melrose. Our rep- 
Light Company was incorporated resentative on the present board of 
in 1854. Its capital stock was then directors is Seth K. Benson. The 
jf50,ooo, and price of gas was $5 company has over one hundred 
per thousand feet. It is now miles of gas main, and supplies the 
1300,000, and the price is now I1.30 cities of Maiden, Melrose, Medford 
net. Among the early directors were and Everett. 
Hon. Daniel W. Gooch and Samuel 



408 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Light Company, at first for 14 arc lights only;''^ the next year 
these arc lights were increased in number, and 40 incandescent 
lights added; at the same time the Wheeler Reflector Com- 
pany furnished 151 kerosene lights. In 1892 the oil lamps 
were abandoned and the town was lighted wholly by electricity 
by the Maiden Company, with thirty arc lights of 1,200 candle 
power, and 280 incandescent lights. This number of lights 
was gradually increased until IQ02, when the number was fifty- 
two arc lamps of 2,000 candle power, and 523 incandescent 
lamps, of twenty-five candle power, at a cost for the year 1901. 
of Si 1,966.09. For 1902 a new contract was made with the 
same company for fifty-two arc lamps at 1^75 each per month,, 
and 544 incandescent lamps at ;^I5.50 each per montii. 

Electric Light Plant. At the Town Meeting held March 
3, 1890, the matter of establishing an electric light plant was- 
debated at length, and resulted in the appointment of the 
following committee to take the subject into consideration and 
report at some future meeting: Charles H. Lang, Jr., William 
A. Smith, George R. Jones, William E. Barrett and George T. 
Brown. Afterwards Mr. Smith resigned and Levi S. Gould 
and Walter H. Roberts were added. 

In 1891, the Legislature passed an act conferring upon towns 
and cities authority to manufacture and distribute gas and 
electricit)', and June 22, 1891, the Town voted to accept the 
same. February 15, 1892, the committee made an exhaustive 
report in a printed pamphlet which was circulated throughout 
the town; and at a meeting held March 21, 1892, it was neces- 
sary to pass another vote similar to that of June 22, 1891, but 
by use of the check list, which resulted as follows: Yeas 165, 
Nays 26. This being more than two-thirds of the votes cast» 
accepted the provisions of the act, and gave the necessary 
authority to vote an appropriation for the establishment of an 

"^ The initiatory action for light- That the sum of thirty-five hundred 
ing the streets by electricity was dollars be raised and appropriated 
taken at a Town Meeting held for lighting the streets of the town, 
March 7, 1887, when a committee and that the [selectmen be author- 
consisting of George L. Austin and ized to expend so much of said 
Julius vS. Clark was appointed to sum as will be necessar}- to main- 
report on the matter, which they tain not less than fourteen electric 
did April 4, when it was voted: "To lights in such localities as may in 
adopt the recommendation of the their judgment best subserve the 
committee in their report, viz: public interest." 



VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 409 

• 

electric plant; but the motion submitted at the same meeting 
to authorize the issuance of bonds to the amount of $75,000 for 
the purpose of establishing this plant, did not receive the 
necessary two-thirds vote, viz: Yeas 152, Nays 82. Total, 234. 

Pounds — Field Drivers — Fence Viewers. One of the 
old Colonial laws, enacted by the General Court in 1645, 
established the Town Pound: "For prevention and due recom- 
pense of damages in Corn fields and other inclosures done by 
Swine and Cattle." P^rom that day to this the institution has 
been maintained in Massachusetts; and Chapter 36, consisting 
of 41 sections of the Public Statutes, makes it imperative upon 
each Town and City to maintain a Pound, and appoint annually 
a Pound-keeper, P'ield-drivers and P'cnce-viewers. 

For a year or two in the early days of our incorporation, 
our Town existed without a Pound, but soon found it necessary 
to have one, as less care was taken of animals then than now. 
At a meeting held March i, 1852, it was voted: 

That the Barn Yard of George Emerson be adopted and used as a 
Pound for the year ensuing, he having consented to have it so used. 

Mr. Emerson then lived on Main Street, on the border of 
Ell Pond. William Newhall was appointed the first Pound 
Keeper. 

April 3, 1854, it was voted to build a Pound behind the En- 
gine House then standing on Main Street, on land adjoining the 
Village Cemetery, afterwards moved a few rods nearer the First 
Baptist Church; nearby stood the hearse house. The amount 
appropriated for this purpose was S40; but it was built by J. 
V. Corson for $27. The Committee, George Emerson, John 
Hlake and James M. Thresher, then the Selectmen, received 
$1 each for their services. 

Here the Pound remained until the new Central Fire Station 
was built, when, in 1898, the Engine House and Pound were 
sold and moved away; and the Pound, although now practical- 
ly of but little use, was established at the Pratt Farm, and 
Arthur J. Honett was appointed Pound Keeper. The other 
predecessors were Jk-njamin R. Upham, William Pierce, Thomas 
McCoubry, D. H. Walker, Henry G. Fields, Samuel L. Walton, 
W. Truman Howard, Joseph Pklwards and Joseph Tyzzer. 
The present I'ound Keeper is Herbert W. Chandler, whose 
wife, Christie L. Chandler, is matron of the Pratt Poor Farm. 



410 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Stone Crushers. At Town Meetings held June 2 and 
September 15, 1890, the Selectmen were authorized to buy the 
lot of ledge land on Maple Street, near the corner of Vinton, a 
short distance west of where once stood the " Mountain 
House" for a stone-crushing plant, and $4,850 was appropri- 
ated for the same; and in due time the crusher was established 
and large quantities of rock crushed for street purposes. 

This locality proved to be a very unsatisfactory one to the 
surrounding inhabitants, and after many and continued com- 
plaints it was voted to remove the same; and in March, 1896, 
a committee consisting of Moses S. Page, Nathan D. Blake 
and L. Frank Hinckley was appointed to investigate and re- 
port concerning a new plant, which they did April 7. This 
led to the appointment of a special committee of three, John 
P. Deering, Jonathan C. Howes and Charles W. Cook, to in- 
vestigate still further and report at a subsequent Town Meet- 
ing. This committee reported and the matter was referred to 
the annual Town Meeting in March, 1897. -^^ this meeting, 
March 15, the Selectmen were empowered to purchase land 
for a new stone crushing plant at the corner of Linwood 
Avenue and Sylvan Street, near the Wyoming Cemetery, at a 
cost of ;g8,ooo; and it was voted that the old plant on Maple 
Street be discontinued. 

This new locality proved to be an ideal one for the purpose; 
remote from the residential portion of the city, and with an 
abundance of rock for crushing purposes for many years to 
come. Thus was recognized, by the removal of the noisy 
crusher, the complaints of the living; caring less, apparently,. 
for the slumbers of the neighboring dead! 

Drinking Fountains. Besides the two ornamental fountains 
spoken of under the head of Parks and Boulevards, the Town 
maintains four public Drinking Fountains, for the benefit of 
man and beast; one at Wyoming, at the corner of Wyoming- 
Avenue and Hurd Street, one at the corner of Main and 
Upham Streets — a large stone one, duly inscribed, " Erected 
y\. D. 1884" — one at the corner of Tremont and West Emerson 
Streets, and one on Franklin Street, near Tremont Street. The 
new one given by the W. C. T. U. is spoken of elsewhere. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

CHARITABLE AND IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS. 



T 



HE Melrose Charitable Association. This Associa- 
tion was formed in i88o. Its purpose, as stated in 
Article II of its constitution was as follows: 



The object shall be to inquire into all cases of want or suffering- 
that may be brought to its notice, and to furnish such relief as is 
required in the opinion of its proper officers. To aid in obtaining 
employment, and to improve the condition of all destitute persons, in 
such ways as may seem best in its judgment. 

The Town was divided into nine districts, and a director and 
an associate visiting committee appointed for each. Its first 
board of officers were: President, Daniel W. Gooch; Vice 
President, George Emerson; Treasurer, William F. Conant; 
Secretary, H, A. Staples; Assistant Secretary, Bessie B. Dear- 
born, and a board of managers, consisting of eight additional 
members. The membership fee was one dollar per annum. 
This Association continued its good work for several years. 
It has been succeeded by 

The Melrose Board of Associated Charities, which was 
incorporated in 1894. This Society has continued to aid the 
destitute and suffering in the same manner as its predecessor; 
its object being, as stated in Article II of its By-Laws: 

To relieve and prevent destitution, by rendering prompt, efficient 
and judicious aid to the deserving, necessitous poor of Melrose ; and 
to encourage thrift, by endeavoring to cultivate the self-respect and 
self-reliance of those to whom aid is rendered. 

Its first officers were as follows: Curtis C. Goss, President; 
Daniel Russell and Franklin P. Shumway, Vice Presidents; 
Charles S. Allen, Secretary; L. Frank Hinckley, Treasurer. 
VViih the exception of Secretary, Miss Anna J. Perry having 
served a portion of the time instead of Mr. Allen, they re- 



412 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

mained the same until the annual meeting of October, 1898, 
when the following changes were made: Sidney H. Buttrick, 
President; Mrs. Lafayette Burr, Secretary, and Oscar F. ?>ost, 
Treasurer. There is also a Board of eighteen Directors, and a 
Visiting Committee, consisting of seventeen members. During 
these twenty-two years these two Societies have been the means 
of doing an immense amount of good; of accomplishing a 
most important and benevolent work. Many a case of desti- 
tution has been relieved; many cases of suffering, unknown to 
the public, aided and helped over hard places; money aid 
given; barrels of clothing and supplies distributed. As the 
the City grows, there is, and will continue to be the same 
field for beneficent usefulness. Each Thanksgiving Day, a 
contribution is taken for the benefit of this Association, at the 
Union services. 

Melrose Improvement Society. This Association was 
formed in 1881. Its first general officers were as follows: 
Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, President; Hon. Samuel E. Sewall, Hon. 
Daniel Russell, Col. Francis S. Hesseltine, Frank A. Messenger, 
Walter Littlefield, Nathaniel P. Jones, Vice Presidents; George 
A. Safford. Secretary, George E. Carr, Treasurer. Article II 
•of its constitution states: 

The object of this Association is to awaken and encourage in the 
community a sentiment and a spirit which will act for the common 
interest; to create or stimulate in the individual a regard for the eleva- 
tion and improvement of the community, thereby securing better 
hygienic conditions in our homes and surroundings ; an improvement of 
our streets, sidewalks and public grounds ; a protection of natural 
scenery; and the building up and beautifying the whole town ; and so 
enhancing the value of its property and rendering it a still more 
inviting place of residence. 

All these objects were successfully accomplished during its 
active life of six or seven years. Thousand of trees were set 
out on streets in all parts of the town, well protected by wire 
netting, and are today of good size, and form delightful shade 
to all during the hot season, as well as being, in themselves, 
beautiful and ornamental. Streets and gutters were cleaned 
and improved, and many other things coming under its juris- 
diction were done. 

As an indication of the activity and usefulness of this Asso- 
ciation, a few items from the Treasurer's report, for one or two 



CHARITABLE AND IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS. 413 

of the years of its existence,' will testify. In 1886, the sum of 
$557.72 was contributed by the citizens in membership fees, 
etc., of which S476.80 were paid for trees and protectors, S30 
for fillino- the large bronze vase at Town Hall with flowers — 
this vase costing S21 5.25, was given out of the receipts of former 
years — S22.50 for clearing up Melrose Common. William A. 
Rodman, Treasurer. In 1887, the same amount. S557.72, was 
raised, $297.40 paid for trees and protectors, S60 for trimming- 
trees and S24 for filling the Town Hall vase. Edward K. Bord- 
man, Treasurer. The balances were used in clearing streets 
and other necessary expenses. 

In this way, this Association performed a very important 
work, in beautifying and caring for the appearance of our town 
during its activity, the fruitage of which, the citizens are now 
enjoying. In all there were over 3.000 trees set out and 
protected, in the streets in various parts of the town. Much of 
this work was done while under the presidency of William N. 
Folsom, with Charles C. Barry as Vice-President and Franklin 
P. Shumway, Secretary.^ 

The acceptance of the Park Law passed by the Legislature, 
and the formation of a Board of Park Commissioners, in 1887, 
which soon after took charge of the parks and public improve- 
ments coming under their jurisdiction, superceded the functions 
of this Association. This organization still exists with Levi 
S. Gould, President, and Sidney H. Buttrick, Secretary. As 
there are now no Park Commissioners, it may yet be called 
upon to do more of its beneficent work. 

In the early days when our town was small, perhaps before 
it was incorporated, a society was formed by a number of our 
citizens, and under the leadership of Hon. Samuel E. Sewall 
and Hon. Daniel W. Gooch, it collected funds and caused to be 
set out many of the large trees now existing on Wyoming 
Avenue, Cottage, Vinton, Foster and other streets.- 

In 1897, the citizens of the Highlands district formed a 

1 During the first five years of its Society are .Mien C. Goss and 

history, William D. Serrat was Nathaniel P. Jones. 
Treasurer for 1 he greater part of the 

time, and during that time about ' Letter from Hon. Levi S. Gould, 

|i,6oo was raised and expended, a,.d who rememl.ers attending some ot 

over 1,600 trees were set out and the n.eetings where funds were 

protected. Other officers that have solicite<l for that purpose, 
done most excellent work in this 



414 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

similar society, with more comprehensive objects than the 
older society, but more especially intended to benefit and care 
for that section of the town. This is called the 

Melrose Highlands Improvement Association. Its object 
as stated in the Constitution is as follows: 

This Association is formed to promote the interests of Melrose 
Highlands, and, acting in harmony with other organizations, to culti- 
vate good citizenship and further the best interests of the Town of 
Melrose. 

Its officers are: President, Stephen F. Keyes; Vice Presi- 
dent, Krnest Mendum; Treasurer, William A. Carrie; Secretary, 
Charles N. Fowler; Directors, Charles M. Cox, Stuart B. 
Remick, Fred L. Hatch, Joseph A. Hurd and L. Henry 
Kunhardt. 

At its monthly meetings it discusses various subjects that 
are brought before it under the auspices of the following stand- 
ing committee: Parks and Shrubbery, Legal and Legislation, 
Schools and Schoolhouses, Rapid Transit and Railroads, Streets, 
Sidewalks and Crossings, Sewers and Water Supply, Gas and 
Electric Lighting. This Association existed a number of 
years, doing good work in its various departments, but at the 
present time is not active, although still organized. 

The Board of Trade, was organized February 13, 1900, 
with Oscar F. F'rost as its first President. It now has a mem- 
bership of 150, composed largely of our local business men. 
Article II of the Constitution: 

The object of the Board of Trade shall be to foster, encourage and 
develope the mercantile and manufacturing interests of Melrose, to 
collect, preserve and circulate useful information concerning the cit}', 
its trade, industries and advantages; to obtain fair and equitable rates 
of freight and improved passenger service to and from Melrose, and 
to prevent, if possible discrimination in favor of other places ; to strive 
with united effort to increase the wealth, industries, trade, influence 
and population of the city. 

Besides the banquet given to the City Government and 
guests. May 2, 1900, in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the 
incorporation of the Town, it holds an annual one in May. Its 
present officers are: President, Edwin S. Small; Vice Presi- 
dents, Herbert J. Perry and Victor A. Friend; Secretary, John 
J. Keating; Treasurer, L. P'rank Hinckley, and it has an 
Executive Committee of fifteen. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

ANNIVERSARIES. 

THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. 

ON THE 1 2th of Febuary, 1900, the Board of Aldermen ap- 
pointed a committee consisting of His Honor, Mayor 
Levi S. Gould, and Aldermen Charles J. Barton, Chair- 
man, Edwin S. Small, John E. Marshall, Andrew J. Burnett, 
George E. Berry and Eugene H. Moore, to make arrangements 
for the proper celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the 
incorporation of the Town of Melrose, May 3, 1850. An aj)- 
propriation of $500 was made for the purpose. 

After various meetings an interesting programme of festiv- 
ities was arranged for the occasion ; but owing to the prevalance 
of a very severe storm on that day none of the contemplated 
events took place, but were postponed, with added features, 
to July 4, 1900. 

On the evening previous 10 the anniversary, May 2, a very 
enjoyable and successful banquet was given by the Board of 
Trade, in City Hall, to the members of the City Government 
and their invited guests. The Hall was handsomely decorated 
and plates for three hundred and eighty guests were laid by 
Caterer Jesse A. Dill. On the stage, embellished with ferns 
and potted plants was stationed Littleficld's orchestra, which 
discoursed most excellent music for the occasion. 

Previous to the banquet an informal reception for the invited 
guests, was held in the aldermanic chamber. 

The invited guests of the Board of Trade were as follows: 
Lieutenant Governor, Hon. John L. Bates; Secretarj' of the 
Commonwealth, Hon. William M. Olin; Captain N. Ma}o 
Dyer; President of the Senate, George K. Smith; Speaker of 
the House of Representatives, Hon. James J. Myers; Repre- 
sentative and Mrs. Charles H. Adams; Rev. and Mrs. Thomas 
J. Horner; Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Barry; Mr. and Mrs. 



416 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Elbridge H. Goss, and the City Government, Mayor Levi S. 
Gould and the twenty-one Aldermen with their wives. 

The invited guests of the City Government were: Hon. 
Francis Bigelow and Hon. Samuel O. Upham, County Com- 
missioners; John A. Fairbairn, .Sheriff; Hon. Charles L. Dean, 
Mayor, Winslow B. Southworth, President of the Board of 
Aldermen, and William A. Hastings, President of the Common 
Council, of Maiden; Hon. Lewis H. Lovering, Mayor, Charles 
S. Baxter, President of the Board of Aldermen, and Charles 
G. Browne, President of the Common Council, of Medford; 
Hon. Charles C. Nichols, Mayor, Charles Bruce, President of 
the Board of Aldermen, and Albert Downing, President of the 
Common Council, of Everett; W. S. Keene, Chairman of the 
Board of Selectmen, of Stoneham; Wesley Paul, Chairman of 
the Board of Selectmen of Saugus; and Richard Stout, Chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen, of Wakefield. 

A very neat menu was prepared, containing on its first page 
a view of City Hall, on its second the names of the special 
guests and other speakers, on the third the menu, and on the 
fourth the officers of the Board of Trade: Oscar F. Frost, 
President; Edwin S. Small and Herbert J. Perry, Vice Presi- 
dents; L. Frank Hinckley. Treasurer; Victor A. Friend, 
Secretary. 

Divine blessing was invoked by Rev. Thomas J. Horner. 

At half past eight o'clock the assembly was called to order, 
and President Frost welcomed the guests in a very appropriate 
manner, briefly stating the purpose and work of the Board of 
Trade, which had then been organized less than three months, 
and had a membership of sixts'. He invited all citizens of 
Melrose to join, and help the Board of Trade to make Melrose 
one of the best cities in the Commonwealth. He then intro- 
duced Mr. Elbridge H. Goss, as the historian of Melrose, to 
serve as the Toastmaster of the occasion. 

The toasts, responses, speeches and letters of this banquet 
are given cjuite at length in the volume issued as a memorial 
of this Fiftieth AnnivLrsar}\ entitled: Melrose: Toi^'ii and City, 
published i)\' Chailcs H. Adams, pp. 26-34. 

Thk iooth Anniversary. There is on deposit in the 
Melrose Savings Bank a special fund, which, with its accumu- 
lations, is to be used for the celebration of the lOOlh 
anniversar}' of the incorporation of the Town of Melrose, May 3, 



A NNIVERSA RIES. 41 T 

1950. This was a balance of $7.50 rt'niainini4 from the celebra- 
tion of Jul)' 4, 1876, the "Centennial Fourth," and now amounts 
to S20.35. 

Malden's 250TH Anniversakv. The Town of Maiden was 
incorporated May 2, 1649. ^'i the 20th, 21st, 22d and 23d 
of May, 1899, the 250th anniversary of its incorporation was 
celebrated by the City of Maiden; Si 7,500 being appropriated 
for its expenses. The City of Everett, formerly South Maiden, 
and the Town of Melrose, formerly North Maiden, were invited 
to join with Maiden in the celebration. 

At a Town Meeting held December 12, 1898, the following 
action was taken: 

Resolved, That the citizens of Melrose, in town meeting assembled, 
accept the cordial invitation of the City of Maiden, to join with them 
in the celebration of the 250th anniversary of its incorporation as a 
town, on the 22d and 23d days of May, 1899, and it is therefore 

Voted, That a committee of nine, including the moderator of this 
meeting, be appointed by the moderator, to meet with the committee 
of the city of Maiden to make such arrangements as may be necessary 
to co-operate with them in the celebration of the 250th anniversar\- 
of its incorporation as a town. 

In accordance with this vote the following gentlemen were 
appointed to serve on this committee; 

Levi S. Gould, Sidney H. Buttrick, 

George R. Jones, Charles H. Adams, 

Elbridge H. Goss, John Larrabee, 

B. Marvin Fernald, Stephen F. Ke)'es, 

Willis C. Goss.' 
At a Town Meeting held May 8, 1899, ;S500 were appointed 
to enable the committee to make proper arrangements for 
participation in this celebration, an enabling act having been 
passed b)' the Legislature authorizing the Town to make such 
an appropriation for this especial purpose, said act being- 
approved April 22. The members of the committee voteil 
unanimously to defray their own expenses; the appropriation 
to be used only for music, engine companies, carriages for 
veteran soldiers and firemen, cavalcade, floats, etc., to take 
part in the grand parade at Maiden on the 23d of May. 

On that day the Melrose Division, No. 6 in the processior, 
formed at the Town Hall at 9 a. m. and marched to Malder. 
It was composed of the following features: 



418 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Walter C. Stevens, Marshal. 

Harry Stevens, Chief of Staff. 

Aids: 

James B. Dillingham, C. Andrews Fiske, 

Frank M. McLaughlin, Albert H. Fuller, 

Frank R. Upham. 

Municipal Band of Boston, twenty pieces. 

Banner Representing the Town Seal; reverse, "City of 

Melrose, 1900." 

Cavalcade of twenty-four uniformed men. 

Indian Chief, Frank J. Ryder, mounted.^ 

Board of Selectmen, in landau: 

Sidney H. Buttrick, L. Frank Hinckley, 

Jonathan C. Howes, Charles J. Barton. 

250th Anniversary Committee in a drag drawn by four black 

horses. 
Melrose Fife and Drum Corps. 
Old Endeavor P^ngine No. 3,"'^ manned and drawn by thirt}- 
six men from Capt. James B. Dillingham's " Provisional Mili- 
tary Company," now in firemen's uniform, under command of 
Frank W. Lynde.'^ This was followed by a carriage containing 
five veteran firemen who attended the 200th Anniversary Cel- 
ebration of Maiden, in 1849; they were members of the 

1 The dress worn was the full and by him given to the late Maj. 

suit of the Indian Chief "Red Wilbur D. Fiske. 

Cloud," who presented it to Col. 2 Bought by Maldeu in 1846 for 

Seymour, then with Gen. Custer, the North Maldeu precinct. 

^ The names of these thirty-six men were as follows: 
Frank W. Lynde, Foreman, J. Clifford Hills, Assistant Foreman, 



Abbott, E. Guy, 
Avery, Lester, 
Black, John A., 
Cass, Albert H., 
Drown, Walter R., 
French, Alfred H., 
Harrison, William H., 
Hills, James W., 
Mellen, William E., 
Ramsey, Alric, 
Upham, Charles E., 



Armstrong, Charles E., 

Bishop, Lewis O., 

Blades, James W., 

Cole, Edward C, 

Emerson, Carl S., 

Geyer. Julius, 

Haven, Harry E., 

Laraviere, Eugene, 

Mitchell, F. C, 

Robertson, Henry, .\., 

Wood, Charles E., 

Vaughn, William. 
The Hills, Lynde, and Upham, were direct descendants of Thomas 
Lynde, Joseph Hills, John Wayte and Phiueas Upham, prominent among 
the first settlers of Maiden. 



A 3' 1 ward, Patrick, 
Black, Charles E., 
Boothby, Asa A., 
Drown, FVank B., 
Foster, Verdi C, 
Green, Harry, 
Heaton, Lewis B., 
Leisk, John A., 
Muse, James, 
Rodgers, FVed II., 
Worth, Ross, 



ANNIVERSARIES. 419 

company that drew the "Old Kiuleaxor " in the procession at 
that time: 

Samuel Ellison, age ninety years. 
Freeman Upham, age eighty-seven years. 
James G. Emerson, age eighty-two years. 
Abel Willis, age eighty-one years. 
William H. Wells, age sixty-six years. 

Melrose Fire Department, A. Wilbur Lynde, Chief lingineer. 

Steamer No. i, and Hose Carriage No. i, accompanied by 
twenty-six firemen. 

Veterans of U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R., George P. Marsh, 
Commander, in barge " Mayflower." 

Veterans of the Spanish-American War, in barge. 

Cambridge Drum Corps. 

Float furnished by the Melrose Highlands Improvement 
Association representing the " North Maiden Minute-Men of 
1775, going to the Lexington and Concord Fight." This float 
represented the seventeen North Maiden men — among whom 
were Lyndes, Barretts, Spragues, Howards, Vintons, Grovers, 
Uphams — who responded to Paul Revere's alarm. They were 
dressed in Continental costumes of great variety; some being 
in their shirt sleeves, others in long coats, and all armed with 
the old-fashioned flint-lock muskets with powder-horns. The 
old plow carried on the float was in use over a hundred years 
ago. 

This was a very interesting feature of the occasion, and was 
pleasingly represented by the following gentlemen, under the 
command of Charles M..Cox; Joseph A. Hurd, George W. 
Burke, Francis A. Smith, Charles N. Fowler, Fred W. Smith, 
Charles F. Reed. Frank N. Bemis, Roswell W.Sawyer, Roland 
R. Morton, Albert F. Tucker, Bert A. Hurd, George Palmer, 
Daniel H. Howie, Carl Robinson and Charles H. Tabbut. 

Styles of locomotion: Yoke of oxen, with drag loaded with 
timber, emblematic of the logs cut on our territory, and drawn 
from North Maiden in 1796-7, by Unite Cox — a Revolutionarj' 
soldier — with which to build the U. S. Frigate Constitution, 
" Old Ironsides." 

As in contrast, it was intended to have the automobile 
carriage belonging to Rufus W. Smitii; hut, owing to the 
inability to regulate the speed with that of the procession, that 
feature was necessarilv withdrawn. 



420 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

The cost of the part taken by Melrose in this parade was 
$497.60; thus leaving an unexpended balance in Town Treas- 
ury of $2.40. 

One of the features of this celebration, was a " Historic Loan 
Exhibition," which took place May 22d, 23d and 24th, in the 
rooms of the Y. M. C. A. Building on Pleasant Street, under 
the direction of a committee of seventeen, of which Frank E. 
Woodward was Chairman. Besides the general committee, 
Honorary Members were appointed from Maiden, Melrose 
and Everett; two from Maiden, six from Melrose and six from 
Everett. The committee from Melrose, appointed by the 
Maiden Committee, consisted of the following persons: 
Elbridge H. Goss, Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, Le\'i S. Gould, 
Miss Mary E. Upham, John Larrabee and Mrs. Harriet E. 
Page. 

The collection of portraits and antiquities pertaining to the 
three municipalities of Maiden, Melrose and Everett was very 
extensive, interesting and unique; consisting of 1081 items, 
which were described, with the contributors' names, in a 
handsomely illustrated catalogue. 

Some of the other features in connection with this Anniver- 
sary, were those that took place in the Jubilee Building erected 
for this occasion, on Pleasant Street. Exercises by the school 
children on Saturday, the 20th; religious exercises Sunday, the 
2ist; literary and musical exercises on the afternoon of 
Monday, the 22d, with address by Deloraine P. Corey, Chair- 
man, and President of the Day; oration by Hon. Arthur H. 
Wellman; ode by Dr. J. Langdon Sullivan and poem by Rev. 
Theron Brown; promenade concert and ball in the evening; 
and in the evening of Tuesday, the 23d, the grand banquet, at 
which nearly nine hundred persons were present, Melrose being 
represented by a goodly number. Addresses were made by 
Gov. Roger Wolcott, Speaker John L. Bates, Congressman 
Ernest W. Roberts, Mayor Charles L. Dean, Ex-Mayor Elisha 
S. Converse and others. Each guest received a souvenir plate, 
made for the occasion by Josiah Wedgewood & Sons, England, 
of which the following is a representation. It is a ver\- hand- 
some memento of this celebration. 

The centre of the plate is occupied b)' a view of the Converse 

Memorial Building, which contains the Maiden Public Librars'. 

Below this view is a copy of the record of the incorporation 



ANNIVERSARIES. 



421 



of the town. At the top of the plate is Hill's Tavern — "the 
Rising Ea<Tle" as it appeared in 1850, taken from a cut in 
•Corey's Histoiy of Maiden. This house, which is still standing, 
was built about 1725. and was occupied as a pul)lic house until 
1804. 

On either side appear the obverse and reverse of the borough 
seal of Maldon, Co. Essex, Eng., the mother of the Maiden of 
New England. 

On the right hand, in a medallion, is a view of Maiden in 
1837. drawn from a cut in Barber's Historical Collections of 
Massachnsetts. This view was taken from Bailey's Hill, and 
presents with accuracy some of the prominent landmarks of 
that dav. 




On the left, in a corresponding medallion, is the Old Parson- 
age, near Bell Rock, which was built in 1724, antl was the 
birthplace of the celebrated missionary, Adoniram Judson, who 
was born here in 1788. 

At the bottom, in the ornamental border which surrounds 
the plate, and in which the medallions are set, appears the 
seal of the town which was in use until the incorporation of 
the cit\-, when it was superceded by the present city seal. The 



422 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

design is by Ludvig S. Ipsen, of Maiden, and is as beautiful as 
it is apposite. 

The following letter shows that the city of Maiden was 

pleased with the action of Melrose and thoroughly appreciated 

* the efforts put forth by the citizens and its committees to 

render the celebration of their 250th Anniversary a grand and 

gratifying success: 

Malden, May 27, 1899. 
Hon. Levi S. Gonid, C/iairnuin Melrose Celebration Cottunittee : 

My Dear Sir. — At a special meeting of this committee held this 
evening, the following vote was unanimously passed: 

Voted, That the Executive Committee of the General Committee 
on the Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the incorporation of 
the Town of Maiden, appreciates the enthusiastic interest of the Town 
of Melrose as shown by its active assistance in the preparations for 
the events of the celebration, and also by its participation in the 
parade in a manner deserving of highest praise. 

And this committee tenders its thanks and the thanks of the citizens 
of Maiden to the Committee and citizens of Melrose for these expres- 
sions of affection for and interest in the Mother Town. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Albert Ammann, Clerk. 

A handsome and profusely illustrated volume was issued bv 
Maiden under the auspices of the Memorial Volume Commit- 
tee, Deloraine P. Corey, Chairman. Among the illustrations 
are three, showing portions of the Melrose Division, en route, 
while taking part in this grand parade; U. S. Grant Post 4, 
G. A. R., the old P^ndeavor Engine and the float of the High- 
lands Improvement Association. 

Old Home Wekk. Instigated by the example and good 
influences resulting from the institution of "Old Home Week" 
which has been adopted by New Hampshire, Maine and 
Vermont, our Representative to the General Court, Charles H. 
Adams, introduced a bill for a similar act for Massachusetts,, 
which became a law February 25, 1902. B}- this act, the calen- 
dar week beginning with the last Sunday of July in each year, 
is set ai)art as a season in which cities and towns may hold 
appropriate celebration.^ in honor of returning sons and 
daughters, and other invited guests, with exercises of historical 
interest. Cities and towns are authorized to appropriate 
money for such observances. 

In the first )'ear of its enactment many towns and cities 



ANNIVERSARIES. 428 

embraced the opportunity, and held very successful celebra- 
tions. As the years go by such anniversar\' i^atherinijs will 
increase and become more popular. 

In Melrose, under the auspices of a Committee appointed 
by the City Government and the Board of Trade, consisting of 
His Honor, Mayor John Larrabee, Charles H. Adams. Oscar 
F. Frost, Daniel E. Gibson, Moses S. Page and Aaron Hill. Jr., 
a well arranged programme of exercises and events was 
prepared for its first celebration. On Sunday, July 27th, 
appropriate sermons were preached in the different churches 
either by local or former pastors; that in the Orthodox Con- 
gregational Church by Rev. Henr)' A. .Stevens, who was 
settled over that Church from 1861 to 1868, and in the High- 
lands Congregational Church 1)\' Rev. D. Allen Morehouse, its 
first minister. 

In the evening union services were held in the City Audito- 
rium, Mayor Larrabee presiding. Introductory address by the 
Chairman; reading of the Scriptures by Rev. Thomas W. 
Brown, former pastor of the Unitarian Church; prayer by Rev. 
Henry A. Stevens; historical addresses by Levi S. Gould and 
Elbridge H. Goss, and address by Rev. John D. Pickles, D. D., 
former pastor of the Methodist Church; the whole interspersed 
with singing b>' a double quartette under the leadership of 
William C. Brown. 

On Monday evening a public reception was held in the High 
School Building; the receiving party being Mayor Larrabee, 
Kx-Mayor Gould, President Robinson of the Board of Alder- 
men, President Small and Ex-President Frost of the Board of 
Trade, and Representative Charles H.Adams, with their wives. 
-Several hundreds of our citizens and visitors took the occa- 
sion to visit our handsome building, with its many valuarble 
gifts with which it is adorned, consisting of engravings, paint- 
ings, bas-reliefs and statuary, contributed by citizens and 
classes. Dow's Orchestra discoursed excellent music during 
the reception. Wednesday was the gala day, being filled with 
races, games, water sports at ¥A\ Pond under the direction of 
John J. Keating, a parade of the Police and Fire Departments, 
led by the Melrose Cadet Band, twenty-two pieces, under the 
direction of George H. Glover, and in the evening at the 
band stand at the head of Ell Pond, a very fine concert by 
the Cadet Band, at which a large crowd was in attendance. 



424 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

On Saturday, the last day, the Soldiers' Monument was 
dedicated at Wyoming Cemetery, under the auspices of the U. 
S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R. A parade consisting of a platoon of 
police, City Ofificers, the U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R., Sons of 
Veterans, Camp 79, Woman's Relief Corps and citizens gener- 
ally, with music by the Melrose Cadet Band, proceeded from 
City Hall to the monument where the exercises took place. 

These consisted of an address of welcome by His Honor 
Mayor Larrabee, and who, in behalf of the City, temporarily 
placed the monument in the care of the Post for the dedicatory 
services. Commander Frank T. Palmer accepted the same, 
prayer was offered by Chaplain John E. Marshall, an address 
by Mrs. Mary A. Livermore and the oration by John D. 
Billings, Past Commander of the G. A. R. of Massachusetts. 

The Officer of the Day was Horatio S. Libby, Adjutant, 
Edwin C. Could, Senior Vice Commander, A. A. Carlton Guard 
of Honor, Sergeant John S. Larrabee and Comrades Charles 
E. Palmer, Fernald, Casey and Riley, Flag Bearer, William H. 
Richardson. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

TEMPERANCE MATTERS. 



EARLY ACTION. 

MELROSE, ever since the date of its incorporation, has 
ranked as one of the strongest temperance towns in 
the Commonwealth. While the Prohibition Law was 
on the statute books, various persons were appointed Liquor 
Agents; Jonathan Cochran. Solomon Severy and Hiram Whit- 
ney, each serving a number of years. Year after year attempts 
were made to have this law repealed and a local option one 
substituted. In 1867, some prominent clergymen appeared 
before a Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature, and 
spoke in favor of a moderate use of intoxicating liquors. 
This action met the heart)- condemnation of many citizens. 
The Melrose Orthodox Congregational Church met and passed 
the following resolutions unanimously: 

Believing- the sale of into.xicating liquors for a beverage to be wholly 
injurious to the social, moral, and religious interests of the community, 
therefore, 

Resolved : That the Congregational Church of Melrose earnestly 
protests against the passage, by the Legislature, of any law licensing 
the same for other than mechanical or medicinal puqooses. 

Resolved : That the present prohibitory law should not only be 
sustained, but strengthened by such legislation as may be necessary. 

Resolved : That the clerk of the church present a copy of these 
resolutions to the Legislature. 

Hut all efforts were unavailing. The Prohibitt)ry Law was 
repealed in 1875. '^^'^ the Local Option Law enacted. This 
necessitated the action of voting each year, in every town and 
city, deciding whether or not intoxicating liquors should be 
sold as a beverage in its municipality. Melrose has always 
voted strongly against the e\'il. It was the banner town in 
Massachusetts, for a while in this respect, only two or three 
votes bein<r cast in favor. The results of some of these ballots 



426 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

are as follows: in 1886, yes 3, no 229; in 1887, yes 2, no 420; 
in 1888, yes 3. no 595; in 1889, yes 16, no 518; and from that 
time there has been a gradual increase of both votes, that at 
the last election, December, 1901, being yes 292, no 1326. 
Notwithstanding the very strong anti-license vote year after 
year, the iniquitous traffic has been illegally and secretly 
carried on in Melrose, in years past, to a certain extent; but 
ever}' effort has been made to eradicate the evil. At a Town 
Meeting held September 6, 1870, the following resolution was 
adopted by a unanimous vote: 

Resolved : That the Selectmen be requested and instructed to 
require of the proper officers that they prosecute forthwith every 
violation of the law, and if necessary to so increase the Police Force, as 
to effectually and forever, close every place where such liquors are 
sold, the additional expense to be charged to the Contingent Fund. 

In various years votes like the following, passed ^November 
15, 1882, have been recorded in favor of temperance: 

Voted, That the sum of three hundred dollars be appropriated for 
the enforcement of the liquor laws, and that the Selectmen be author- 
ized to employ such legal and other assistance as in their judgment 
may be necessary to suppress the sale of intoxicating drinks in this 
Town; and that the Treasurer be and he is hereby authorized to 
borrow the sum of three hundred dollars for the purposes mentioned. 

So faithfully and persistently have our officers aided in this 
manner that it is safe to say that Melrose still maintains her 
rank and honor as a banner temperance town. 

This sentiment has been largely fostered and increased by 
the many temperance organizations that have in the past, and 
do now exist in our town. Earnest men and women have 
banded together to do what they could to stay the inroads of 
this terrible evil in our midst; and in this way much has been 
accomplished for the well being of our community. In their 
day the "Sons of Temperance," which body existed for a 
number of years, did valiant service; so was it with the 
" Loyala Temperance Cadets," and the "Catholic Total Ab- 
stinence Society," all of which have been superceded by other 
like organizations. 

The oldest one now existing in Melrose is the 

SiLOAM Temple of Honor, No. 29, which was instituted 
May 14, 1867. It has forty-five members. It is officered as fol- 



TEMPERANCE MATTERS. 427 

lows: Worthy Chief Templar, Worthy Vice Temi)lar, Worthy 
Recorder, Worthy Assistant Recorder, Worthy Financial Re- 
corder, Worthy Treasurer, Worthy Chaplain, Worthy Usher, 
Worthy Deputy Usher, Inside Guardian and Outside Sentinel. 
Closely affiliated with this orj^anization is the 

SiLOAM Social Temple, No. 6, which was instituted Novem- 
ber II, i86S, and has sixty-seven members. This is officered 
as follows: .Sister and Brother Presiding Templar, Sister and 
Brother Vice Templar, Sister and Brother Recorder, .Sister 
Financial Recorder, .Sister Treasurer, Sister and Brother Usher, 
Sister Cha[)lain, Sister Guardian and Brother Sentinel. For 
many years there was associated with these orders the Cadets 
of Temperance, composed of young men and boys. It was the 
means of instilling into the minds of those coming to years of 
maturity, and many of whom now have to manhood grown, the 
temperance principles so strongly advocated by the fathers 
and mothers. 

Thk Mei.rose Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
was organized June 7, 1882, with a membership of fift)', with 
Mrs. 01i\-e J. Liltlefield as its first President, who is now its 
Honorary President. It has now three hundred and seventy- 
eight members, active and honorary. Its Constitution is as 
follows: 

In view of the wide spreading influence of intemperance throughout 
our country, and especially in our community, its debasing influence 
upon the souls of its victims, the misery brought through its use to 
the homes of our citizens : 

We, the undersigned, women of Melrose, hereby form ourselves into 
a solemn compact, pledging our active co-operation in all practicable 
ways for removing this terrible evil, and in creating such a healthful 
public sentiment as .shall demand and secure the banishment of in- 
toxicating drink from our land. 

Fully comprehending the difficulties of this work and our utter 
insufficiency, unaided by Divine help, we will not cease to implore by 
prayer and communion with God and His Word that strength and 
wisdom which alone can crown our labors with success. 

This large and active body of energetic and determined 
women has done much effective work in keeping Melrose the 
strong and influential temperance town that it is. Kach season 
a course of lectures and entertainments has been sustained. 



428 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Many of the eminent speakers and lecturers, and much of the 
talent for these courses, has been obtained through the instru- 
mentality of Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, who has acted as the 
" Lecture Committee," and who has ever taken a very great 
interest in the prosperity and good work of this Society. To 
her more than any other one is due the credit for its long and 
prosperous career. But her efforts have been earnestly and 
energetically aided by the many others that have been asso- 
ciated with her. 

In August, 1899, this Society established a very practical 
and beneficial structure; one that will be enjoyed and appre- 
ciated by the public. It has given the City a handsome bronze 
drinking fountain, which has been placed on Main Street, at 
the edge of the sidewalk, on the easterly side of the City Hall. 
A tank has been built in the sidewalk, which is surrounded 
with a coil of water pipe, in the centre of which a supply of 
ice is placed daily; thus furnishing cold water to the thirsty 
public " without money and without price." This ornamental 
accession to public improvements bears the following inscrip- 
tion: W. C. T. U. 1899. 

The ofificers are chosen annually, and are as follows: Hon- 
orary President, President, two Vice Presidents, Recording 
Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treas- 
urer, Auditor, and there is a large Executive Committee. There 
^re also Lecture, P'ranchise and Distribution Temperance 
Literature Committees, a Superintendent of Temperance In- 
struction in Schools, and a Committee on the Willard Y Settle- 
ment and Wide Awakes. 

P^or many years, and until within a short period, the 
" Independent Order of Good Templars, Guiding Star Lodge, 
No. 28," which was organized in 1861, did long and faithful 
service in the cause of temperance. It had a large member- 
ship, and was aided and encouraged by all who had the best 
welfare of the Town at heart. 

On November 13, 1900, this order was reorganized as Melrose 
Lodge, No. 5, I. O. of G. T., and is now in a flourishing condi- 
tion. It is officered as follows: Chief Templar, Vice Templar, 
Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, 
Marshal, Deputy Marshal, Chaplain, Guard, Sentinel, Super- 
intendent of Juvenile Templars and Past Chief Templar. 



TEMPERANCE MATTERS. 429 

St. Mary's Catholic Total Abstinence Society, was 
organized April, 1897, and has 73 members. 

The foundation, the corner stone of our Societj^ is total abstinence, 
the grandest cause ever instituted by man. We are banded together 
for the elevation and true education of the Catholic young men of the 
city. The need of the Society is evident. The good that is being 
done by this Society in this city is daily manifesting itself. The fruits 
of our labors are gratifying, and are a source of great encouragement 
to us to continue the work. 

It is officered by a President, Vice President, Secretary^ 
Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Board 
of Directors of five; Rev. Francis J. Glynn, Spiritual Director. 

Some of the action taken by our mother Town, and the votes 
passed in connection with the traffic in, and use of spirituous 
liquors form curious reading for the present day, for the 
citizens of anti-license communities. Most of what follows 
concerning these matters is taken from Corey's History of 
Maiden, Chapter " Church and Town." 

As Thomas Call was the first beer seller of Mystic Side, so 
to Thomas Skinner belongs the doubtful honor of being the 
first recorded dealer in "strong waters " in Maiden. Although 
the latter remained in life and in Maiden until 1704, he appears 
to have soon retired from the " Ordinarie" business. The 
following petition lies in the Middlesex Court files, vi. 27: 

I'o the honoured Court at Charleto 16. 4^'' m"_ i6^j : 

The Town of Maldon being destitute of An Ordinarie keeper for 
Accommodatmg the Town and Countrie. It is the desire of the 
Selectmen of the sayd Town : that A Bro'. of the Church there : namely 
Abraham Hill may by this Court be licenced to keep an Ordinairee 
there. As Allso to draw wine for the better Accommodating both the 
Church and Countrie. JOH Wayte 

John Sprague 
John Vphame 
Will Brakknburv 
The Court consents hereto 23. 4. 1657. 

Tho: Dan for kh Record'; 

Two years later the selectmen reciuested the Court that: 

Abr. Hill may be lycenced to sell strong liquoi^s in the s'' Towne for 
the necessary supply of Travelle's as allso for the Inhabitants that 



430 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

pi'sons may be p" vented from keeping such quantities in their priuate 
Houses, the abuse whereof haue proued of uery euill consequence. 

^th 2 mo i6^g: 

The evils of license were not long in appearing. Drunken- 
ness was of frequent occurrence and many sins which drunk- 
enness might often incite were not unknown. 

And in October of the same year the County Court en- 
deavored to remedy the evil: 

This Court doth order y'. all ye inkeepers within the limitts of this 
Coun. shall henceforth be p^hibited selling of strong waters by retaile. 

But prohibition did not prohibit. Laws were annulled or 
fell into disuse. The sale of liquors has ever continued 
more or less; and pen cannot describe resultant crimes, 
poverty and sufferings arising therefrom. 

Other items of interest follow: In 1671, John Pemberton of 
Maiden was found drunk in the street in Boston and was put 
in the stocks; but he took a drunkard's revenge in beating his 
wife. 

In 1767 John Mudge, who had been a worthy citizen and a 
deacon of the South Church, appears in the following order 
as one who had become depen'dent upon the town: 

an order on the Treasurer to m' James Kittle for one pound ten 
Shillings & ten pence for Supplies of Rum & Sugar for Dea" Mudge 
Eight month (viz) from march 10'^';' to Oct^ 27".' 1766. 
Dated in Maiden Yeh\ 18''; 1767. 

By order of the Select men Ezra Green, Town Clerk. 

At a Town Meeting, held August 12, 1779, when the report of 
a " Committee to state the prices of several articles of Com- 
merce among ourselves which the Convention did not state," 
was considered, votes were passed which affected the prices of 
lodging and sustenance at public houses. It was then ordered 
that New England rum should be nineteen shillings a bowl, 
and West India toddy eighteen shillings a bowl with loaf sugar 
and sixteen shillings with brown sugar. 

The first place in which rum was sold on the territory of 
Melrose was in the old Upham house, on the old road now 
Green Street, near the corner of Howard, in a store then kept 
by Israel Cook. This is spoken of more in detail under the 
heading " Revolutionary Incidents." 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
SOCIETIES— ASSOCIATIONS— CLUBS. 

IT is doubtful if any town or city in the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, of the size of Melrose, has as many different 
kinds of organizations — Church. School, Masonic, Odd 
Fellows, Temperance, Patriotic, Political, Charitable, Fraternal 
Insurance, Beneficiary, Alumni, ^Educational, Chapters, Clubs, 
— women's, social, literary, golf, cycle, etc. — as has ours. It 
may, indeed, be called a "city of clubs;" as every kind of 
organization that is clubbable is in evidence. I have tried to 
enumerate the most of them, but, without doubt, "there are 
others." 

Freemasonry. The Masonic F"raternity was first established 
in Melrose on August 28, 1856, when a dispensation was issued 
b)' the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, to 
eleven citizens, " empowering them to convene, under the 
name of VV}oming Lodge, and in said capacity to initiate, 
craft, and raise Masons." It received its charter Septembt-r 
10, 1857, and "the Lodge was formally dedicated to the mem- 
ory of the Holy Saints John, October 12, 1857." It first met 
in the old Lyceum Hall, on Main Street, and afterwards in 
handsomely furnished rooms, with costly and appropriate 
paraphernalia, in Waverley Block, Essex Street. 

On the lOth of March, 1863, a dispensation was granted by 
the Most PExcellent Grand Royal Arch Chapter of this Com- 
monwealth, to thirty-eight Companions, mostly citizens of 
Melrose, with a few from the surrounding towns, to work as 
the Waverley Royal Arch Chapter of Masons, and they were 
duly chartered September 30; and on the 27th of March, 1S65, 
" it was deemed that the proper time had come to perfect 
their Masonic structure, and ])lace the capstone upon the 
edifice, by establishing an Encampment' of Knights Templars;" 

^ Knights Templars organi/.a- changed, ami they are now known 
lions were formerly called En- as Commandcries. 
•canipments, but the title was 



432 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

therefore a dispensation was issued by the Grand Encampment 
of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, empowering fifty-six Sir 
Knights, living in Melrose and the surrounding towns, to con- 
vene under the name of the Hugh de Payens Encampment. 

Lodge, Chapter and Encampment were now enjoying a full 
tide of prosperity, but were doomed to bitter disappointment. 

On the evening of Thursday, January ii, 1866, the alann bell 
sounded forth its warning notes, and upon repairing to Waverley Hall 
it was found that this noble structure was in the power of the destroyer. 
Great and unceasing effort was made by the brethren resident in 
Melrose, assisted by the citizens generally, to rescue the furniture of 
our Lodge, and with partial success. The jewels and a portion of the 
necessary working implements of each body were saved; all else was 
swallowed up in irretrievable ruin. The extent of this disaster for a 
time paralyzed the craft, and some were almost ready to resign in 
despair the idea of regaining our former position; but there were 
many connected with each organization, who could not harbor the 
thought that Masonry with us should meet so tragic an end.- 

But a short time elapsed, however, before steps were taken 
for the purpose of erecting a building for Masonic purposes 
in Melrose. The Waverley Masonic Association was chartered 
by the General Court, and in less than six months after the 
disaster, the corner-stone of the present handsome Masonic 
Temple on the corner of Main Street and Wyoming Avenue 
was laid under its auspices. The Temple was duly dedicated 
by Masonic ceremonies, April 24, 1867; and it has been sump- 
tuously furnished for all Freemasonry purposes; and in it from 
that day to this, brethren of the m\'stic tie ha\e met and 
fraternized.'^ 

The membership of these three orders is as follows: of the 
Lodge 248, the Chapter 240 and the Encampment 323. 

Affiliated associations of these three bodies are: the Melrose 
Council Royal and Select Masters, which was organized in 

- P'rom The Orii^in and Present the facts concerning Masonry here 

Condition of Freemasonry in Mel- given are from this pamphlet. 
rose. Prepared by direction of the 

Waverley Masonic Association, for ^ After the Temple and its furn- 

the pnrpose of being dejiosited in ishings were completed the Associ- 

the Corner- stone of their new Kdi- ation wasdissolved and the property 

fice, at Melrose, June 25th, A. D. turned over to, and given into tl-.e 

1866, by Levi S. Gould. Past Mas- jurisdiction of the Wyoming Lodgt- 

ter of Wyoming Lodge. Most of in the care of a Board of Trustees.. 



SOCIETIES— ASSOCI A TIONS— CLUBS. 



438 



1868, and has 276 members; and which now meets in Masonic 
Hall, Maiden, instead of Melrose, as formerly and " Melrose 
Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, No. 14," composed of the 
wives and daughters of Masons, ori^anized in 1881, and has 106 
members. 

The names of the ofificers of these different organizations, 
which now meet in Masonic Hall, are as follows: Of the 
Lodge; Worshipful Master, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, 
Treasurer, Secretary, Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon, Senior 
Steward, Junior Steward, Marshal, Chaplain, Inside Sentinel, 
Organist, Assistant Organist and Tyler. 




MASONIC TEMPLE. 

Of the Chapter: Most Excellent High Priest, Excellent 
King, Excellent Scribe, Treasurer, Secretar)-, Chaplain, Royal 
Arch Captain, Principal Sojourner, Master Third Veil, Master 
Second Veil, Master First Veil, Organist, Assistant Organist 
and Tyler. 

Of the Commandery: Eminent Commander, Generalissimo, 
Captain General, Prelate, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, 
Treasurer, Recorder, Standard Bearer, Sword Bearer, Warder, 
Third Guard, Second Guard, First Guard, Organist, Assistant 
Organist, Sentinel and Armorer. 

Of the p:astcrn Star: Worthy Matron, Worthy Patron, As- 



434 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

sociate Matron, Secretary, Treasurer, Conductress, Associate 
Conductress, Chaplain, Adah, Ruth, Esther, Martha, Electa, 
Warder, Organist and Sentinel. 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Melrose Lodge, 
No. 157. This order of the three links. Friendship, Love and 
Truth, was instituted October 6, 1871. It is one of the long 
established and flourishing institutions of Melrose, and has 180 
members. Qualification of membership: 

No person shall be eligible to membership in this lodge except a 
free white male, of good moral character, who has arrived at the age 
of twenty-one years, and who believes in a Supreme Being, the Creator 
and Preserver of the Universe. No saloon-keeper, bar-tender or pro- 
fessional gambler shall be eligible. 

The Lodge is officered as follows: Noble Grand, with Right 
and Left Supporters, Vice Grand with Right and Left Sup- 
porters, Past Noble Grand, Recording Secretary, P^'inancial 
Secretary, Treasurer, Warden, Conductor and Chaplain. 

Daughters of Rebekah, Golden Rule Lodge, No. 23. 
This is a kindred body, composed of ladies, and was organized 
in 1874 and has 97 members. This is officered as follows: 
Noble Grand, with Right and Left Supporters, Vice Grand, 
with Right and Left Supporters, Past Noble Grand, Secretary, 
Financial Secretary, Treasurer, Conductor, Warden, Chaplain, 
Inside and Outside Guardians. Both of these orders meet in 
Odd Fellows' Hall, Bugbee & Barrett's Block, Main Street. 

Melrose Athletic Club. Like most clubs and organiza- 
tions, the Melrose Athletic Club began its existence in a very 
humble manner. 

In November, 1883, five young men met at the house of the 
late Walter Babb, on East Emerson Street. These were 
Frank M. Goss, Rufus W. Smith, Edward E. Babb, Fred M. 
Goss and William J. McCoubry. The Club was then organized 
with Frank M. Goss as President, Rufus W. Smith as Vice 
President and Fred M. Goss as Secretary and Treasurer. From 
that time the numbers increased. A room was engaged in 
Boardman's Block, corner of Main and Essex Streets, and 
occupied until December, 1885, receiving its 'charter mean- 
while on October 26 of that jear, when it moved into larger 
and much more commodious cpiarters in Eastman's Block, 



SOCIE TIES- A SSOCIA TIONS - CL UBS. 



435 



Main Street, where it enjoyed itself in a gymnasium with all 
the necessary athletic accoutrements, including bath rooms. 

While here the series of annual minstrel entertainments was 
inaugurated; and these have been given for seventeen succes- 
sive seasons, each effort being received by enthusiastic and 
crowded audiences. Good music always interspersed with 
jokes, puns, local hits and burlesques, which run riot with un- 
curbed license. 

For many years the Club solicited and raised the funds, and 
took charge of the Fourth of July celebrations, which have 
been the source of so much enjoyment to our citizens; bell- 
ringing, band music, athletic sports, ball games, boat racing 
and fire-works furnishing a varied entertainment. 

The games and pastimes of the Massachusetts Inter-Club 
League, were inaugurated by the Melrose Athletic Club, a few 
years since, and are now enjoyed and participated in by many 
of the surrounding Clubs. The Club has had numerous field- 
days, with bicycle races and athletic sports. 

In 1894, under the presidency of Sidney H. Buttrick, who 
held that position for several years, steps were taken for the 
purpose of building and owning quarters of their own, which 
resulted in the large and commodious brick front building 
now occupied on Main Street, just south of West Foster 
Street. It has a large hall, gymnasium, billiard tables, bowling 
alleys and all the appliances for the maintenance of a first- 
class athletic club. Cost of land and building $18,500. 

Its present membership is 192 and it is officered as follows: 
President, Vice President, Treasurer, Financial Secretary, 
Clerk, and an Executive Hoard of three. 

The Melrose Club. This Club was organized in 1889. 
The membership is limited to two hundred and fifty persons. 
The present Club Rooms are in the second 
and third stories of the Swett Block on Main 
Street, with a connected bowling alley in the 
rear of the building. The various rooms are 
handsomely furnished and possess every con- 
venience for the enjoyment of the members. 
Under the supervision of the committee on 
theatricals, during each season, a number of 
plays are produced in their hall, situated in the third story. 
Enjoyable "ladies' nights" are of frec]uent occurrence. During 




436 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



the Club's life several receptions of prominent people have 
taken place ; notably that of Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of 
the Navy, and Captain N. Mayo Dyer, Commander of the 
U. S. S. Baltimore, under Admiral Dewey; on which occasion 
he told the story of the Battle of Manila Bay, May i, 1898, 
much to the gratification of those present. 

It is officered by a President, Vice President, Secretary, 
Treasurer and Executive Committee of six. 

There are other minor committees having charge of the 
various games of billiards, bowling and whist. 




HOMK OF the; MELROSE CLUB. 

Under the auspices of the Club several Loan Exhibitions of 
Amateur Photography have taken place, on which occasion 
the display of photographic work has been of a very pleasing 
and satisfactory character. Not only our own photographers 
but others from surrounding towns and cities have exhibited. 

The Highland Club of Melrose. This Club occupies its 
own house, situated on Chipman Avenue, at the Highlands 
and was built in 1891, at a cost of $24,000. The Club was first 
organized in that year as the Melrose Highland Club; but 
reorganized in 1894, as above. It now has 125 members. 



50CIE TIES— A SSOCIA TIONS CL UBS. 



437 



This Club House is complete in all its appointments; having 
a large hall, with stage, and seating capacity for five hundred; 
reception room, ladies' parlor, music room, billiard room, card 
room, four bowling alleys, open fire-places and other conven- 
iences. The stained glass windows on the first floor were 
contributed by different citizens; the one large, very handsome 
one, showing portions of Melrose Abbey, being the contribu- 
tion of the late Frank A. Messenger. 




111. iiKiULAXi) ci.i'H iiorsi'; 



The Club is officered by a President, Vice President, Secre- 
tary, Treasurer and eleven Directors. 

On the opposite side of Chipman Avenue, nearl)- opposite 
the Club House, is situated the unit|uc Stone Fort, built by 
the late George W. Chipman, now the property of Charles E. 
French. It contains a bowling alley on the Street side, and 
therein the Highland Club organized and met for several 
months while the house was being built. 

This occupies ground formerly owned by Winthrop Rich- 
ardson, where stood the tower seen in the illustration on page 



438 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



125. These two illustrations, on pp. 125, 126, were photo- 
graphed from a lithographic plan of the Vinton farm, which 
Mr. Richardson bought and laid out in house lots in 1853; 
consequently are somewhat indistinct. 




THK ST(.)NK FOKT. 



The Bellevue Golf Club. In the spring of 1899. the 
members of the then existing Bellevue Tennis Club, as a 
nucleus, organized the Bellevue Golf Club which now has a 
limited membership of two hundred. It leased the thirty acres 
belonging to the estate of the late Cah'in Locke. This 
rolling land, lying between Porter and Howard .Streets, on 
the slope of Pine or Rattlesnake Hill, is admirably adapted 
to this purpose giving ample scope for its course of 1845 y^'^i'ds 
with nine holes; these are uniquely named as follows: 'T.ong 
Tom," with its deep ditch to cross; "E^lbow," through a swamp; 
"The Birches," through a small grove with adjoining swamp; 
"Grove," over rocky land with bushes, hill and ditch; "Over 
the Garden Wall," similar in character to the last; "The 
Pines," also similar; "Lookout," so named from its extensive 
and excellent view of the surrounding country; "High Ball,'* 
over a fair green, and "Home," the most difficult of all, with 
its stone walls, trees and bushes. During the year 1902 an 



SOCIE TIES— A SSOCIA TIONS— CL UBS. 439 

additional tract of land containing- 25 acres lying between Pine 
Hill and Howard Street was leased by the Club thus making 
the length of run for the nine holes 2,700 yards instead of i ,845. 

During the summer of 1900 a beautiful and picturesque Club 
House was erected, on a commanding site on the side hill. 
Its walls are built entirely of pasture stones. It has wide 
verandas from which exquisite views are to be enjoyed; and 
its interior is handsomely finished and furnished with every 
convenience for the indoor entertainment of its members; 
lockers for the players' paraphernalia, and piano for music and 
dancing. It cost ^1,800. 

The Club is ofificered by a President, Vice President, Secre- 
tary, Treasurer and three Directors. 

The Menawarmet Club, at the Highlands was organized 
two years ago, has twenty-five members, and is ofificered with 
a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. 

The Melroser Deutsche Genossenschaft, was organized 
in June, 1901. Anyone who has studied, or is interested in the 
German language, whether in the High School or not, is 
eligible for membership, and there are now 145 members. Its 
object is "to promote interest in the German language and 
literature, and also to furnish a common bond of interest 
between the alumni and present members of the High School." 
At its meetings German plays and readings are given, folk- 
songs sung, and games played. It is ofificered by a President, 
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and an Executive Com- 
mittee. 

Faneuil Hall Chapter of the Daughters of the Amer- 
ican Revolution. The Faneuil Hall Chapter of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution was organized in Wakefield, Feb- 
ruary II, 1896, receiving its charter from the National Society, 
July 31, 1896. Nearly all its members, numbering about 
seventy, are residents of Wakefield, Reading, Everett, Maiden 
and Melrose; about half of whom are residents of our city, 
the next largest number belonging to Wakefield. The Chapter 
holds its meetings at the residences of its members. 

Besides the active members, there are also, one life member, 
Mrs. Mary A. Livermore. three honorary members, Mrs. Mary 
W. Pratt, Miss Lucretia A. Hopkins and Mrs. George W. 
Grouard, and an Orator, Elbridge H. Goss, who is, also, a life 
member. 



440 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

During its short existence the Chapter has made contribu- 
tions to a number of patriotic objects; among them a monu- 
ment to Mary, the mother of Washington; the Hancock-Clarke 
House in Lexington; statue of Washington to be presented to 
France; and the Lafayette monument. Also to the Continental 
Hall Fund, and the monument to Rubena Hyde Walworth, 
the soldiers' nurse at Montauk. 

In January, 1897, a petition drafted by the then Regent, 
Mrs. Ida Farr Miller, was sent to all the Massachusetts Chap- 
ters, asking cooperation in an effort to have Faneuil Hall, 
" The Cradle of Liberty " — for which this chapter was named — 
repaired and made fire-proof by the City of Boston; thus saving 
to future generations that famous building concerning which 
Lafayette said, when a guest of the city, in 1824: 

The City of Boston, the Cradle of Liberty ; may Faneuil Hall ever 
stand a monument to teach the world that resistance to oppression is 
a duty, and will, under true Republican institutions, become a blessing. 

Other patriotic societies became interested in the effort, all 
of which culminated in action being taken by the City of 
Boston; and the Hall was renovated, beautified, repaired and 
made fire-proof; being completed during the year 1899. 

In January, 1900, the project of adorning our handsome 
High School Building, initiated so successfull)' by the High 
School Alumni, was aided by the Chapter in a gift of a framed 
engraving of " Mount Vernon." 

On the 24th of May, 1900, the Chapter celebrated a "Mary 
A. Livermore Day." The exercises consisted of the planting 
of a tree on the High School lawn, to be known as the "Mary 
A. Livermore Elm," the biographical address for the occasion 
being delivered by Elbridge H. Goss.^ The remainder of 
the exercises took place in the High School Hall, and com- 
prised addresses by the Regent, Miss Hattie A. Wilkins, the 
State Regent, Miss Sara Daggett, Gen Francis G. Appleton, 
President of the Sons of the Revolution, with a reply by 
Mrs. Livermore. These addresses were interspersed with 
vocal selections rendered by Misses Nickerson and Elliott, 
and Messrs. William C. Brown and Flint. A reception to 

^ In the view of the High School buildiug, iu realit}^ it is ou the 

Buikling, page 199, this elm tree lawn, near the street, and not far 

may be seen. Although apparent- from the flagpole, 
ly near the main entrance to the 



SOCIETIES- ASSOCIATIONS CLUBS. 441 

Mrs. Livermore followed, which was participated in b}- all of 
the speakers, and Admiral N. Mayo Dyer, an invited guest. 

A " Historical Class" for the study of the colonial period of 
our country's history has been organized in connection with 
this Chapter. 

A very fine exhibit of colonial and revolutionary relics was 
made by this Chapter on the afternoon and evening of May 8, 
1901, at the residence of Mrs. Charles C. Odlin, No. 89 West 
Emerson Street. In the collection were many rare and valu- 
able antiques; almost every member, and some that were not 
members, contributed interesting relics and souvenirs of those 
periods. Addresses appropriate to the occasion, were made 
by James J. Myers, Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
Mrs. Mar\' A. Li\-ermorc, and Representatives Odlin, of Lynn, 
and Adams of our Cit\'. 

It is ofificered as follows: Regent, Vice Regent, Recording 
Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Registrar, His- 
torian, and four Directors. There are four standing commit- 
tees: Historical, Social, Music, and Program. 

Deliverance Munroe Chapter of the Daughters of 
THE Revolution. Another patriotic society, affiliated with 
our city, is the Deliverance Munroe Chapter of the Daughters 
of the Revolution, which was organized March 9, 1897, and 
which has thirty members living in Maiden, Everett and Mel- 
rose. Like the former it has monthly meetings at the resi- 
dences of its members. During the year 1900, it placed a 
bronze tablet on the Deliverance Munroe homestead in Lex- 
ington, at a cost of S50, and it has raised the sum of $25 for 
the Valley Forge Memorial, which cost ^5,000, all of which 
was raised by the Daughters of the Revolution. On each 
Memorial Day the Chapter decorates the graves of the fifty or 
more Revolutionary heroes who are buried in the Wyoming, 
Forest Dale and Bell Rock Cemeteries. 

At its last monthly meeting it was unanimously voted to 
appeal by petition to the Maiden city government to have 
"Bell Rock," on Main Street, where hung the bell of its first 
church, preserved as one of Maiden's historic spots. 

It is of^cered as follows: Regent, Secretary, Treasurer, His- 
torian, and an Executive Board of eight. 

For the purpose of fostering patriotism among the children, 
a new organization has been established; and on February 11, 



442 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 




1898, the "Children of the Revolution: Wyoming Society," 
was formed with fifteen members, soon after increased to 
twenty-seven members and it is officered as follows: President, 
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Registrar. 

Melrose Sons and Daughters of Maine. This Society 
was organized January 10, 1895. ^^ was formed for the pur- 
pose of promoting social intercourse 
among its members. Natives of 
Maine above the age of eighteen 
years and residing in Melrose, as 
also the wife or husband of such 
natives so residmg are eligible to 
membership. The present number 
of members is one hundred and sev- 
enty-five. It is officered as follows: 
President, Vice President, Secretary, 
Treasurer and an Executive Committee of twelve, all chosen 
annually. 

The Amateur Gardeners' Society. This Society was 
formed for the advacement of the cultivation of fruits, flowers 
and vegetables, and has done much to further that object. It 
was organized April 22, 1895, ^"d has 100 members. It holds 
two exhibitions annually; the Rose Show in June, and the 
Flower, Fruit and Vegetable one in the autumn. It is officered 
by a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and a 
Board of nine Directors. 

The United Boys' Brigade of America. The first organi- 
zation of this kind was formed in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1883; 
in America in 1890, at San Francisco, Cal. In 1895 a union 
was affected of all Boys' Brigades in the United States, under 
the name of the United Boys' Brigades of America. In the 
early summer of 1902, a Boys' Brigade was formed at the 
Highlands, in connection with the Highlands Congregational 
Church, and now has 115 members, divided into three compa- 
nies, A, B and C, belonging to the 6th Regiment, ist Battalion. 
Elach member takes the following pledge: 

I promise and pledge that I will not use tobacco or intoxicating 
liquor in any form; that I will not use profane, vulgar or indecent 
language ; that I will obey faithfully all the Company rules, and that 



SOCIETIES^ASSOCIATIONS CLUBS. 443 

I will, at all times, set an example of good conduct to my comrades 
and other boys. 

The companies arc ofificerecl by a Commandant, Captain, First 
and Second Lieutenants, five Sergeants and four Corporals. 

FRATERNAL SOCIETIES — INSURANCE AND BENEVOLENT. 

Melrose has many beneficiar\- and fraternal societies. 

Royal Arcanum, Bethlehem Council, No. 131. This was 
organized in 1876, and has 209 members. Its officers are: 
Regent, Vice Regent, Past Regent, Orator, Secretary'. Collector, 
Treasurer, Chaplain, Guide, Warden and Sentrx', with three 
Trustees. 

Knights of Honor, Guardian Lodge No. 406. Organ- 
ized in 1876. Has 51 members. Its of^cers are, Dictator, 
Vice Dictator, Past Dictator, Reporter, Financial Reporter, 
Treasurer, Guide, Chaplain, Guardian and Sentinel. 

American Legion of Honor, Washington Council, No. 89. 
Organized in 1880. Number of members twenty-three. Its 
officers are Commander, Vice Commander, Past Commander, 
Orator, Chaplain, Secretary, Treasurer, Collector, Guide, 
Warden and Sentry. 

United Order of the Golden Cross, Melrose Com- 
mandery, No. 99. Organized in 1880. Has sixty-four mem- 
bers. Its officers: Noble Commander, Past Noble Commander, 
Vice Noble Commander, Keeper of Records, P'inancial Keeper 
of Records, Treasurer, Worthy Prelate, Worthy Herald, Warder 
of Inner and Outer Gates. 

Ancient Order of United Workmen, Garfield Lodge, 
No. 32. Organized in 1881. Has 167 members. Its officers: 
Master Workman, Past Master Workman, Foreman, Overseer, 
Recorder, Receiver, Financier, Guide, Inside and Outside War- 
dens and three Trustees. 

Odd Ladies, Lincoln Lodge, No. 33. This was instituted 
at Melrose Highlands, March 19, 1895, ^^^ ^^^s 51 mem- 
bers. It is officered as follows: Worthy Noble Lady, Worthy 
Vice Noble Lad>-, Worthy Treasurer, Worthy Financial and 
Recording .Secretaries, Worthy Lady Reporter, Worthy Chap- 
lain, Worthy Guardian, three Trustees, and Senior and junior 
Reprcsentatixes. 



444 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



Foresters of America, Court Pride of Melrose, No. 
107. Instituted October 30, 1895. Has 130 members. It is 
officered as follows: Chief Ranger, Sub Chief Ranger, Record- 
ing Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, Senior Wood- 
ward, Junior Woodward, Senior Beadle, Junior Beadle, 
Physician, Lecturer and three Trustees. 



Knights of Columbus, 
Melrose Council, No. 128. 
Organized June 16, 1895. 
Number of members 97. Its 
officers are chosen annually. 
They are as follows: Grand 
Knight, Deputy Grand 
Knight, Chancellor, Record- 
ing Secretary, Financial Sec- 
tary, Treasurer, Warden, 
Advocate, Lecturer, Physi- 
cian, Chaplain, Inside Guard, 
Outside Guard, and three 
Trustees. 



Knights of Malta, Rhodes Commandery. This order was 
organized in February, 1902, and has fifty-three members. It 
is officered by a Sir Knight Commander, Generalissimo, 
Captain General, Recorder, Assistant Recorder, Treasurer, 
Senior and Junior Warden, Chaplain, and two Inside and two 
Outside Guards. 

The Robert Emmet Branch of the Irish National 
Foresters, was organized February 25, 1902. It has forty-fiv^e 
members. It is officered by a Chief Ranger, Sub Chief Ranger, 
Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Senior and 
Junior Woodwards, and Senior and Junior Beadles. May 4, 
1902, the 

Sarah Curran Branch, was organized, consisting of ladies, 
and has fifty members. Its officers bear the same names as 
the above. 

American Benefit Society, Melrose Lodge, No. 126. 
Was organized December 31, 1898. It has fourteen members. 
It is officered as follows: President, Vice President, Junior 




SOCIETIES ASSOCIATIONS-^CLUBS. 445 

Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, Collector, Orator, Chap- 
lain, Warden, Sentry and three Trustees. 

Star of Melrose, Loyal Okange Lodge, No. 353. This 
organization was formed in 1896 and has sixty members. It 
is officered as follows: Master, Deputy Master, Secretary, 
Treasurer, Chaplain, Director of Ceremonies, Inside and Out- 
side Tylers, Committee on Finance and three Trustees. 

New England Order of Protection, Wyoming Lodge, No. 
365, was organized November, 1900, and has seventy members. 
It is officered as follows: Warden, Junior Past Warden, Vice 
Warden, Secretary, F"inancial Secretary, Treasurer, Guardian, 
Sentinel and three Trustees. 

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 48, was 
organized in December, 1900, and has eighty-two members. 
It has a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ser- 
geant-at-Arms, and Sentinel. The Ladies' Auxiliary to this 
order was organized a year later and has fifty members. 

Carpenters and Joiners of America, Melrose Union. No. 
760. Organized in March, 1901, and has 80 members. It has 
the following officers: President, Vice President, Financial 
Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Warden, Con- 
ductor, three Auditors and two Trustees. 

Knights of Pythias, Fordell Lodge, 
No. 115, was organized by James W. 
Murray, and instituted February 19, 1895. 
It has over one hundred members. This 
order is founded on Friendship, Charity 
and Benevolence, and a part of its " Dec- 
laration of Principles" is as follows: 

Pythian Knighthood had its conception in 
the exemplification of the life-test of true friend- 
ship existing between Damon and Pythias. 
Friendship, or mutual confidence, being the strongest bond of union 
between man and man, and only existing where honor has an abiding 
place, is adopted as a foundation principle. 

It is officered as follows: Chancellor Commander, Vice 
Chancellor, Prelate, Master of Exchequer, Master of Finance, 
Keeper of Records and Seal, Master at Arms, Master of Work, 
Inner and Outer Guards, three Trustees, and two Representa- 
tives to the Grand Lodge. 




CHAPTER XXX. 

POLITICAL. 

AUSTRALIAN BALLOT FOR TOWN ELECTIONS. 

AT a Town Meeting held February i6, 1891, it was voted 
to accept the provisions of Chapter 386, Acts of 1890, as 
amended by the Legislature of 1891. This related to 
the printing and distributing of ballots for Town Elections at 
the public expense, known as the Australian ballot law appli- 
cable to Town elections. Under this action it was voted: 

That the Town elect by ballot, under the provisions of law which 
have been accepted, the following officers, the number of each Board 
and terms of office of which shall be as follows : A Board of Select- 
men consisting of three persons to be elected annually, one Town 
Clerk, one Treasurer, and one Collector of Taxes, to be elected annu- 
ally, a Board of three Assessors to be elected as provided by Chapter 
27, Sections 65, 66, 67 and 68, Public Statutes, a Board of Water Com- 
missioners consisting of three persons, one of whom shall be elected 
annually for three years, a Board of Water Loan Sinking Fund Com- 
missioners, consisting of three persons, one of whom shall be elected 
annually for three years, a School Committee consisting of six persons, 
two of whom shall be elected annually for three years, a Board of 
Trustees of the Public Library consisting of five persons to be elected 
annually, one Auditor to be elected annually, a Board of Overseers of 
the Poor consisting of three persons to be elected as provided by 
Chapter 27, Sections 69, 70, 71, 72 and 73, Public Statutes, a Board of 
Health consisting of three persons to be elected for the current year, 
one for three years, one for two years, and one for one year, and 
annually thereafter there shall be elected one person for three years, a 
Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three persons, one of 
whom shall be elected annually for three years, and four Constables to 
be elected annually. 

February 3, 1893, it was voted: 

That the number of selectmen be hereafter five, to be elected 
annually. 



POLITICAL. 447 

The same year the number of Trustees of the Public Library 
was chan<^ecl from five to six, two to be elected annually for 
three N-ears. 

Precincts and Wards. At a Town Meeting held April 28, 
1893, the Selectmen made a report of their division of the 
Town into three voting precincts which was adopted. It gave 
the boundaries with the nuniber of legal voters in each. Pre- 
cinct No. I was in the northerly part of the Town, and then 
contained 402 legal voters; No. 2 in the central, with 925 
voters, and No. 3 in the southerly portion with 687 voters. 
This was a total of 2014 legal voters at this date. P^ach pre- 
cinct had a Warden, Deputy Warden, Clerk, Deputy Clerk, 
two or more Inspectors, two or more Deputy Inspectors, and 
Tellers, who were appointed by the Selectmen each year, until 
we became a City, when in October 1899, it was again divided 
by the Selectmen into seven Wards, in conformity with the 
provisions of the Charter; and these Wards were ofificered as 
follows: Warden, Deputy Warden, Clerk, Deputy Clerk, four 
Inspectors and four Deputy Inspectors. 

Parties. The two principal political parties. Republican 
and Democratic, are conducted b\' the usual party organiza- 
tions. For several years an annually elected Town Committee, 
and afterwards the Republican Club — organized in 1887 — 
had the general management of all matters pertaining to the 
caucuses and conventions of the Republican party, as did the 
Committees and Club for the Democratic party. But now the 
management of each party is gi\'en over to the City Commit- 
tees; that of the Republican consisting of 35 members, five 
from each ward, and that of the Democratic of 21 members, 
three from each ward; each one being governed by the State 
caucus law. 

Besides the general City Committees, many of the wards 
have also a separate political organization. 

The Prohibition, Socialist Labor and Democratic Socialist 
parties, although throwing a small vote, has each an organ- 
ization, and nominates candidates for a portion of the officers at 
each State election. 

During the stirring times previous to the Civil War, another 
Republican Club was formed in Melrose for the purpose of 
aiding the election of Lincoln and Hamlin as President and 
Vice President of the United .States. A committee appointed 



448 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

for the purpose submitted the following document setting 
forth its principals: 

The Republicans of Melrose believing that the National Govern- 
ment should be rescued from the hands of a corrupted Administration, 
which has prostituted its powers to furiher the selfish ends of a sec- 
tional Oligarchy alone ; exhausted its treasury to reward its venal 
partizans and poisoned the sources of government by wholesale cor- 
ruption and fraud at the ballot box ; and that the reins of government 
should be placed in the hands of honest men who shall guide the 
course of our country's progress in the paths marked out by the 
wisdom of the Fathers of the Constitution, and conduct their Adminis- 
tration with the prudence and purity that characterized the early days 
of the Republic ; and wishing to join our united forces in aid of so 
glorious^an object, hereby organize ourselves for the ensuing political 
campaign, under the following provisions: 

This Association shall be known as the Melrose Wide Awake Club 
and all Melrose Republicans shall be considered as members on sign- 
ing the Constitution thereof. Its object is to arouse and sustain the 
interest of its members and others in the political questions of the 
day; to discuss the fundamental principals of free government and 
their application in the constitution of our country and the doctrines 
of the Republican Party which are founded thereon ; and by all fair 
and honorable means in our power to labor for and promote the triumph 
of these principles, and secure the election of Abraham Lincoln of 
Illinois for President of these United States, and Hannibal Hamlin of 
Maine as Vice President of the same, and all regularly nominated 
Representatives of these principles at the ensuing elections. 

The officers of this Association shall be a President, and five Vice 
Presidents, one of whom shall preside at each meeting; a Recording 
Secretary, who shall record the proceedings of the Association in a 
suitable book provided for this especial purpose ; a Corresponding 
Secretary who shall conduct and preserve its correspondence ; a Treas- 
urer, who shall keep the funds and defray the expenses of the Associa- 
tion; and an Executive Committee of nine who shall make the 
necessary arrangements for public meetings, invite speakers, arrange 
discussions, provide music and manage the business affairs of the 
Association. The President, Vice Presidents and Corresponding 
Secretary shall be ex-officio members of the Elxecutive Committee. 

G. Lamkin, 
P. B. Holmes, 
J. W. Jones. 

The records, giving officers, names and proceedings, have 
been swept into the oblivion of the past; but it is remembered 
by many that it was a very active and influential body of our 



POLITICAL. 449 

prominent citizens of that period so freighted with most 
important consequences. In connection with this Club was a 
company of mounted Wide Awakes, and both foot and horse 
appropriately uniformed, took part in the numerous night 
parades of those exciting times in Boston, our own and the 
surrounding towns. 

Another organization which was formed during the turmoil 
of the Civil War, was the Union League, Council No. 87, which 
had a large membership during its existence, and was largely 
instrumental in shaping the policy of the Town while in the 
thrall of those troublous times. It was formed October 21, 
1863, and its officers were: Napoleon B. Bryant, President 
William F. Poole and Augustus Durant, Vice Presidents 
Daniel W. Wilcox, Treasurer; Elbridge H. Goss, Secretary 
George F. Stone, Marshal; Thomas W. Chadbourne, Herald 
Rev. George Prentice, Chaplain, and Wingate P. Sargent, John 
Crocker and David A. Alden, Finance Committee. 

The Municipal League of Melrose. This was organized 
October 4. 1897. Its object as stated in its By-Laws, is as 
follows: "The purpose of the League shall be to secure the 
nomination and election of proper candidates for municipal 
offices; to advocate and promote a public service based upon 
character and capability only; to promote intelligent discus- 
sion of municipal affairs by the publication and distribution of 
reliable information in relation thereto; and to procure the 
punishment of all persons who may be guilty of election 
frauds, maladministration of office, or misappropriation of 
public funds." It is officered by a President, three Vice Presi- 
dents, a Treasurer, Secretary, Auditor and an Executive Com- 
mittee of fifteen, with the other officers as members ex-officio. 

Present number of members two hundred. 

The Public Franchise League of Melrose. This organi- 
zation was formed April 23. 1902, with the following officers: 
President, John G. Robinson; Secretary, Victor A. Friend; 
Executive Committee, Charles C. Barry, William A. Carrie. 
Arthur M. Willis, Henry Brown and Edwin S. Small. 

The principal object of this League is to take charge and 
present all the interests pertaining to public franchises; as 
that is a question that will be before the people for many years 
to come. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

THE WIDENING OF MAIN STREET. 

THIS good work began in 1888, when the County Com- 
missioners ordered Main Street to be widened from 
Mt. Vernon Street to Maiden line. An appropriation 
was made at the November meeting, and the next year the 
street was regraded and widened at a cost of $3,770.33, ;?6oo of 
which was paid by the County Commissioners. At a subse- 
quent meeting $950 was appropriated to build a sidewalk from 
Masonic Hall to Maiden line. In 1891, a movement was 
begun to have the widening of Main Street continued through 
the centre of the town. As it was seen that this would be 
quite an expensive work, it met with serious opposition; but 
now that it has been accomplished, everybody is sati*sfied that 
it was a very wise and beneficial transaction. The beauty of 
the street is greatly enhanced, trade is better accommodated 
and the public buildings seen to much better advantage. 

The prime mover in this great |niblic improvement was 
.Sidney H. Buttrick. He drew up, circulated, presented and 
urged the importance of this matter before the County Com- 
missioners. The petition was as follows: 

To the Comity Cominissioucrs of t/ie Comity of Midd/esex : 

We the undersigned, citizens of the Town of Melrose, do hereby 
petition your honorable board to widen, straighten and relocate the 
lines of Main Street in said Town of Melrose from Mt. Vernon Street 
northerly to its junction with Lebanon and Green Streets. 

Sidney H. Buttrick, George W'. Bartlett, 

Joseph D. Wilde, William N. Folsom, 

Fernando C. Taylor, John O. Norris, 

Washburn Emery, Addison Lane, 

George R. Jones, Julius S. Clark, 

George \^■ . White, Clinton White, 

William L. Bacall, A. Selwyn Lynde, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



451 



Charles B. Goss, 
George W. Dew, 
Oscar F. Frost, 
Jeremiah L. Hanaford, 
Charles E. Newhall, 
John Larrabee, 
Jonathan C. Howes, 
M. Frank Eastman, 
William P. Cook, 
Charles C. Odlin, 
Samuel C. Hallett, 
Andrew L. Maclachlan, 
Henry W. Woodward, 
Julian S. Cutler, 
L. Frank Hincklej', 
Alonzo A. Luce, 
Thomas J. Ryder, 
Henry G. Fields, Jr., 

Fred H. 



Henry K. Johnson, 
Henry Brown, 
Jesse A. Dill, 
George W. Burke, 
George Newhall, 
Walter C. Stevens, 
Elbridge H. Goss, 
Charles W. Ellison, 
Albon W. Parker, 
Robert Philpot, 
William H. Mitchell, 
George T. Brown, 
Allen C. Goss, 
Albert H. Armington, 
Charles F. Loring, 
William L. Pratt, 
Charles M. Field. 
Frank L. Washburn, 
Morse. 



In January, 1892, the County Commissioners, having received 
this petition, and given the subject due consideration, issued 
an order to widen and build Main Street from Mt. Vernon to 
the junction of Lebanon, Porter, Main and Green Streets to 
the width of sixty feet. The work was done, all claims for 
damages consequent thereto adjusted and paid, and the total 
cost to the Town was §15,924.87, and to the County ^6,500, as 
follows: 

Land damages, 515,801.57 

Labor, 5.092-97 

Counsel fees, i. 250.00 

Court fees, 280.33 



Less amount received from the County, 
Total cost to the Town, 



$22,424.87 
6,500.00 

Si 5.924.87 



THE B:[.KAN0K liKOWX TOO IHAKl'.K 1UM>. 

Mrs. Eleanor Brown Toothaker died March 2, 1893, leaving 
a legacy for "the needy poor of Melrose." l^efore the exact 
amount dependent upon the settlement of her estate was ascer- 
tained, $1,000 was paid over' to the Town, by the executor of 



452 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

her will, George Newhall, in 1895; and at a Town Meeting held 
March 26, 1896, the following vote was passed unanimously: 

That the Town express its appreciation of the bequest of Eleanor 
Brown Toothaker, by rising ; and that the one thousand dollars 
($1,000) received, and all money which shall be hereafter received 
under her will, constitute and be named " The Eleanor Brown Tooth- 
aker Fund," to he kept separate from the poor department appropria- 
tion ; and that the same be expended, with any income which may be 
received on the same, for the needy poor of this Town, by the over- 
seers of the poor, as provided in her will. 

There was afterwards added to this fund when the estate 
was settled the sum of $922, making a total bequest of ^1,922. 
The income to January i, 1902, has been ;?26i.98, and there 
has been expended according to provisions of the will, $764.06; 
leaving a balance at that date of $1,419.92, 

MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865, by John 
Wilkes Booth. United memorial services were held in the 
Orthodox Congregational Church, April 19, with addresses by 
Rev. Henry A. Stevens, Rev. Henry Baker and Rev. William 
S. Barnes; interspersed with music, prayer and Scripture 
reading. For full account see Melrose Memorial, pp. 210-218. 

James Abram Garfield was shot July 2, 1881, by Charles 
J. Guiteau, and died September 19, 1881. Under the auspices 
of the Selectmen, memorial services were held in Town 
Hall, September 26, when addresses were made by the local 
pastors, Reverends Robert F. Tolman, William Butler, D. D., 
Albert G. Bale, Richard Eddy, D. D., John G. Taylor, Father 
O'Farrell, Charles L. Short, Henry Westcott, Hon. Daniel 
W. Gooch and Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, with appropriate 
music, prayer and Scripture reading; also a series of resolu- 
tions presented by Walter Babb. A full account of these 
exercises was given in the Melrose yoiirnal, September 30, 
1881, and reprinted twenty years later, with comments, in the 
Journal oi September 27, 1901. 

Ulysses S. Grant. Another solemn memorial service took 
place in the Town Hall, August 8, 1885, under the auspices of 
the Selectmen, on the occasion of the death of General Ulysses 
S. Grant, who died at Mount Gregor, New York, July 23, 1885. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 458 

The hall was heavily draped. An account of these memorial 
services is given on pp. 255-6. In addition to what is there 
stated a hymn, "Low Lies our Captain," written by Mrs. 
Livermore, was suns^" by the choir, selected for these services, 
under the leadership of Samuel S. Preble, Jr. 

A full account of these services was issued in pamphlet 
form, by the late William L. Williams, the then proprietor of 
the Melrose yojtmal. 

William McKixlky was assassinated September 6, 1901, by 
Leon Czolgosz, and died September 14, following. Memorial 
exercises were held under the auspices of the City Government, 
in the City Hall, September i8th, when there was an address 
by His Honor, Mayor John Larrabee. and a eulog>' by Hon. 
Charles J. Noyes. Prayer by Rev. Thomas Sims, D. U., 
reading of Scripture by Rev. Edwin C. Bolles. D. D., and music 
by the Melrose High School choir of young ladies. A full 
account of these services was given in the local papers under 
date of September 20 and 27. Memorial exercises were held 
in all of the churches on the Sundays of September 16 and 
22, with sermons by the various pastors; exercises were held 
also by many of the other local organizations. 

THE STARS AND STKIPKS. 

On March 2-], 1895, the Legislature passed an act making it 
obligatory upon the school committees of the several cities 
and towns, to provide for each schoolhouse in which public 
schools are maintained, 

a United States flag of silk or bunting, not less than four feet in 
length, and a suitable flagstaff, or other apparatus, whereby such flag 
may be displayed on the schoolhouse grounds, or schoolhouse build- 
ing, every school day, when weather will permit, and on the inside on 
other school days. 

Five years before this date, this patriotic movement had been 
engendered and encouraged, and the project accomplished in 
Melrose, as will be seen by the following circular, the issuing 
of which met with a hearty response from our citizens, and 
flags were provided for all our schoolhouses: 

Melrose, January )S, 1890. 
Mv Dear Sir: — There is a movement being made just now to 



454 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

have placed upon every public school building in Massachusetts the 
United States flag, as an ever present object lesson to our children. 
Melrose cannot afford for her own or her children's sake to be behind 
in this grand movement, and as there are no public funds available 
for their purchase, you are invited to contribute the sum of $i.oo, 
(or more) towards supplying every school building in Melrose with a 
flag. 

We propose to have a Grand Flag Presentation on Washington's 
Birthday, at the Town Hall, that shall cause a wave of patriotism, 
both inspiring and helpful, to roll over our fair town. The movement 
has the cordial endorsement of the School Committee, who have 
voted " to erect staffs for all flags presented." 

All money received will be acknowledged with name of contributor,^ 
in the Me/rose Journal. Kindly reply at once, enclosing your contri- 
bution in enclosed stamped envelope, and oblige 

Truly yours, 

F. P. SHU>nvAY, Jr., 

For Committee. 

This was a Citizens' Committee, organized for this purpose, 
consisting of Mr. Shumway, Moses S. Page and Charles W. 
Cochrane. The late Major W. Irving Ellis at once donated a 
handsome flag for our High School; the late Joseph D. Wilde, 
Hon. William E. Barrett and the U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R., 
each gave one, and popular subscriptions furnished the rest. 
As indicated in the circular, these flags were presented to the 
public schools on Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1890. 
The exercises took place in Town Hall, under the auspices 
of the Melrose Republican Club, George T. Brown, President, 
which had contemplated doing by itself, what was afterwards 
done by the citizens, the Club heartily uniting in the move- 
ment. 

The scholars from the public schools were present. Mr. 
Shumway made a report for the Citizens' Committee. Music 
for the occasion was furnished by the Melrose Choral Society. 
The flags were accepted for the different schools, by John O. 
Norris, Chairman of the School Committee. 

CURFEW BELL. 

The good old custom of "ryngging ye curfewe," is being- 
revived throughout the land. Particularl}^ is this the case in 
many of the towns and cities in the west, where ordinances 
have been adopted requiring all children under sixteen years 



MISCELLANEOUS. 455 

of age to leave the streets at the ringing of the niiie o'clock 
bell, unless accompanied by parents or guardians, or on 
errands, in which case they must not loiter. The penalty in 
the City of Yankton, South Dakota, is: "First offence, return 
to homes and parents informed. Second, incarceration in 
calaboose or fine;" and the City Clerk says in a letter dated 
January lo, 1898: " I have been called on by a number of other 
cities and towns for copy of the ordinance and think it is 
destined to become general." City Clerk of Morris, Minn., 
says: " Moral effect good and public sentiment with it." City 
Clerk of Anoka, -Minn., says: " It has been a success from the 
start " (1895.) 

This same custom is bemg advocated and adopted in some 
of our eastern municipalities. The City of Cambridge has 
passed the law and finds it effectual, lessening crime and 
promoting morality. This is not a particularly harsh or tr\'ing 
law. It simply provides that children of sixteen years or 
under shall not be on the streets without a good and sufficient 
t .Kcuse, after half past nine o'clock, p. m. The police are first" 
to notice and warn; then next complain to parents; and lastly, 
if unheeded, arrest. 

In England, this custom has existed since the days of 
William, the Conqueror. In some towns curfew has been rung 
for over eight hundred years. In Boston it was rung for over 
two centuries. The town records of our mother town show 
that the custom existed in earlier days; " for Ringing the bell " 
in 1826, Si 2 was paid ; and the curfew was rung for many 
years after that, as is remembered by citizens now living. In 
the town of Newbury, in 1706, it was voted to "take care that 
the bell be rung at nine o'clock every night, and that the day 
of the month be every night tolled." Thus was it in many 
other towns. 

It is hoped it may yet ring in Melrose. Several efforts have 
been made to have it re-established. In our early days it was 
rung for a number of years. In 1855, the town voted to have 
the bell on the Protestant Methodist Churcli rung at nine and 
also at twelve o'clock; and George F. Hoardman was paid 
$33.33 for same. In 1856, it was continued, being rung not 
only at nine and twelve, but at seven in the morning; and 
Learned Lynde was paid $\o, and Jacob M. Ellis $20 for ser- 
vices. Different votes establishing it have been passed since; 



45G HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

but it has met with indifferent success. One, March 12, 1879, 
to be rung at nine o'clock; repealed Nov. 4, following. One 
in 1893, was repealed after a while, at the request of the fire- 
men who made the plea that they could not tell the curfew 
from the fire alarm. With the new system of striking the 
alarm fully established, the curfew can be rung without any 
danger wnatever of conflicting with the fire alarm. Now that 
the custom has something besides sentiment behind it, and is 
utilized in the interest of morality and for the prevention of 
crime, why ought not Melrose to adopt it? Not only this; 
although we have no "lowing herd" that " winds slowly o'er 
the lea," as "curfew tolls the knell of parting day," still it 
would be pleasant to hear the pealing of a sweet-toned bell 
welling out o'er hill and dale, as 

" The day is done, and the darkness 
Falls from the wings of night." 

"49ERS." 

When the California "gold fever" burst upon the world in 
1849, there were six residents of North Maiden that left for 
that " El Dorado:" 

John Taylor, Greeley Merrill, George P. Fuller, [until recently a 
citizen of Melrose, but now of Bourne, Mass.] and John McClish 
[Rev. John McLeish of the Protestant Methodist Church], who went 
as chaplain, John McClish, Jr., a boy fourteen years old, who went as 
cabin boy, and a man by the name of Abbott, who went as sailor.^ 

They sailed with sixty-four others in the Brig "Sea Eagle," 
on March 8, and arrived in San Francisco, October 28, 1849, 
after a voyage, via Cape Horn, of 234 days. After a some- 
what fruitless search for the yellow metal, Mr. Fuller returned 
to Melrose, June 4, 1851. after a voyage of four months, a 
portion of which time, fifty-three days, he was obliged to sub- 
sist each day on "one-half pound of bread, two ounces of pork, 
and a pint of water. I remember well the stories that were in 
the papers at the time, one being a )arn about a man findmg a 
piece of gold so big that he could not move it, and sat down 
on it and offered as high as twenty-seven thousand dollars for 
a plate of beans." 

1 George Priest Fuller's letter in Melrose Reporter, March 11, 1899. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 457 

SLAVE KV. 

As has been seen in the sketches of the oUl families of Mel- 
rose, by extracts from their wills, and copies of documents 
there given, and items and anecdotes related, particularly in 
connection with the Lynde, Barrett and Sprague families, 
slavery once existed on the territory of North Maiden, as well 
as on that of Maiden centre. It would seem, however, in this 
region, to have been in a less harsh form than the slave-dri\ing, 
family separating state of that institution as it existed in the 
South. Nevertheless, slaves were sold here, like cattle, or any 
other chattel, as well as bequeathed by will, and "Slavery \» as 
here from the beginning and remained under the protection of 
the law until after the Revolutionary period.""- 

The first notice of the existence of slavery on Maiden terri- 
tory is implied in an order of the General Court in relation to 
a servant of Job Lane, the builder of Maiden's second meeting 
house, said servant having been found guilty of running troni 
his master. 

[May i8, 1633] Ebedmelecks ye negros censure. In ans' to the 
petition of Job Lane, in behalfe of Ebedmeleck, his servant, for the 
remittment of the rigor of the lawe, &c, the Court judgeth it meete, 
that the said Ebedmelecke, for his stealing victualls and breaking open 
a window on the Lord's day, shall, the next lecture day. be whipt with 
five stripes.'^ 

By the middle of the century [i8th], a feeling antagonistic 
to slavery began to work a change in public opinion, and the 
condition of the slave began to improve. The laws for his 
protection became more direct, or were better observed; and 
he was more freely admitted to the enjoyment of Christian 
rites and privileges. His children might be baptized and h.e 
might be^ ome a member of the church. 

Ginne negro servant to M'; Thomas Pratt of Chelsea was baptized 
in 1750, by the Rev. Aaron Cleaveland of the South Church ; [Maiden] 
and there were at least two negroes who were members of the same 
church, in full communion, before the Revolution. . . . The Creen 
family had several slaves, as had also the Lyndes, the Dexters. and 
the Bucknams.^ 

- Corey, History of Maldeti, 414. 

■* Massacfiusi'/ts Colony Records, iv ( i ;, 137. 

* Corey, History of Maldcu, 419. 



458 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

On this subject, the Bi-Centemiial Book of Maiden, page 131, 
has the following : 

There were formerly a number of persons of x\frican descent held 
in chains of bondage among us, one or two of whom survived until 
within a very few years. There is a tradition that one of the old 
Esquires of this town had a slave who had been in his family until he 
was about seventy years of age. Perceiving that there was not much 
more work left in the old man, the Esquire took him one day, and 
made him a somewhat pompous address to the following effect : " You 
have been a faithful servant to me and my father before me. I have 
long been thinking what I should do to reward you for your services. 
I give you your freedom! You are your own master; you are your 
own man." Upon this the old negro shook his grizzly head and with a 
sly glance, showing that he saw through his master's intentions, quietly 
replied ; " No, no, Massa you eat de meat, and now you must pick de 
bone." 

Another has said: 

The names of a few of these sevirtors have come down to us ; but 
the names of Brahma Bucknam and Cato Lynde, of Phyllis WiUis and 
Violet Hills, belong to a day and a condition which have passed away. 
The comparative value of human flesh in Maiden may be known by 
the inventory of Deacon John Pratt, which was made in 1742, when 
an " oald negroman " and a cow were valued alike at ;^io each. The 
inventory of the estate of Ezra Green, made in 1768, valued " a Negro 
man named Jeferre " at £10, while the more youthful " Negro Boy 
Named Simon "was invoiced at ;^33. A " Negro Garl Named Violet," 
increased the inventory only by the amount of ;^io, 13s. 4d. Several 
individuals who had been slaves remained in Maiden within the last 
fifty years, the last of whom was Simon Knights, who, with his worthy 
and industrious wife, is well remembered by many. He had been a 
slave of Bernard Green, and was a sincere and consistent Christian 
and a member of the Baptist Church. He lived many years in a 
small house, as black as himself, which stood in Haskin's Lane, not 
far from the site of the Unitarian Chapel, and died in July, 1847. His 
funeral service, which was held in the Baptist Church, was attended 
by the towns-people as that of a neighbor and friend.-' 

In the History of Medford, by Charles Brooks, occurs the 
following concerning the slaves held in our neighboring town 
by Col. Isaac Royal, who, after leaving the country, wrote to 
his agent. Dr. .Simon Tufts, as follows: 

^ Corey, History of Maiden, for by vSainuel Adams Drake, 1880, ii> 
History of Middle se A- Cc«?//i', edited 125. 6. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 459 

Please to sell the followinjj negroes: Stephen and George; they 
each cost j^6o sterling; and 1 would take ^50, or even ;^i5, apiece 
for them. Hagar cost £'^s sterling; but 1 will take ;^3o for her. 
I gave for Mira £2,^^ but will take ;^25. If Mr. Benjamin Hall will 
give $100 for her which he offered, he may have her, it being a good 
place. As to Betsey, and her daughter Nancy, the former may tarry, 
or take her freedom, as she may choose ; and Nancy you may put out 
to some good family by the year. 

Of Col. Royal, Mr. Brooks says: "Asa master he was kind 
to his slaves, charitable to the poor, and friendly to everybody." 

The Maiden Records for February 4, 1761, state that the 
Selectmen paid Solomon Townsend ^'13,6,8, for brin^iny up a 
mulatto child, he agreeing to indemnify the town from any 
charge "on account of said child so long as it ma}- be made a 
slave to me or m}- heirs." 

The following notice is a relic of its later days: 

Ran away from the Subscriber, on the 3'' inst. an indented negro 
Servant, named Ephraim Pomp, 18 years old, about 5 feet 3 inches 
high ; walked lame ; speaks broken by reason of a hair-lip which has 
been cut and sewed up ; wore or carried away a blue cloth coat, a 
white do, waistcoat, dark colored cloth pantaloons, and a straw hat, 
All persons are forbid trusting or harboring said Lad, as they would 
avoid the penalty of the law ; and any person that will take up and 
return said Lad, shall recive a reward of One Cent for their trouble. 

Maiden, Sept. 13, 1804. Bernard Green.** 

REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS. 

On the 19th of April, 1775, when the British troops left 
Boston for the purpose of capturing Hancock and Adams, and 
destroying stores, at Lexington and Concord, two men from 
Lynn, by the name of Hadley and Wellman, on their way to 
join our forces "to resist the ministeral troops," stopped at the 
old Israel Cook house then standing on the easterly corner of 
Green and Howard streets. This house was built about the 
year 1730, by Phineas Upham, son of the first Phineas Upham 
that came to Melrose. He died in 1739, and his widow married 
Mr. Cook, who kept a store in this house, and who received a 
license to sell rum as early as 1759, recognizing to the King 
therefor 
in the sum of ;^io with 2 sureties in the sum of £^ each, conditional 

^ Columbian Sentinel y ."^epteniber 15, 1804. 



460 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

on his using the Ucense in the house occupied by him and for keeping 
good rule and order as the law directs. 

The first stove ever used in this town was in this house. 
The two patriots were fired by the spirit of patriotism, but 
stopped at this store to refresh themselves with another kind. 
They went on their way thrilled by two kinds of spirit, rum 
and patriotism. Both were killed at Lexington. 

On the mornincj after the alarm, the women of this part of 
the town, fearing that their sons and husbands might suffer for 
the lack of food 

filled the saddle-bags and placed them on Phineas Sprague's horse, 
the best if not the only means of transportation in those days. Isaac 
Cook mounted the horse and started for Lexington. On his way, 
when nearing Lexington, he was shot at b}^ the British, who killed the 
horse from under him ; but Cook, nothing daunted, shouldered the 
saddle-bags and trudged on, till he found the men, who were much in 
need of food. 

The after history of this old Upham-Cook house is as follows: 
A few years ago, Henry A. Norris bought the property, and 
the old house was demolished, when another of our old land- 
marks became a^ thing of the past. Mr. Norris then built 
many fine houses on this tract of land, and sold many lots, on 
which the purchasers built their homes; and " Norrisville " 
sometimes called " Fountainville," on account of the handsome 
fountain standing in the square, given by Mr. Norris and 
George M. Dennis, then a resident, has become one of the best 
residential parts of our city. Mr. Norris also placed the 
public fountain at the intersection of Avon and Elm Streets; 
and the private fountain on the lawn of the residence of Rev. 
Burke F. Leavitt, corner of Green and Avon Streets. 

John Edmunds, who bought the old Breeden place on the 
old road to Saugus, near the Parker place, was a Revolu- 
tionary patriot. He took pride in relating his war experience. 
He owned a sword which he obtained in the following manner. 
While crossing a field to his quarters one day, he was met by 
a Hessian soldier. They grappled and a most desperate 
struggle ensued. They fell to the ground, Mr. iLdmunds upper- 
most. The Hessian begged for his life. Mr. Edmunds stripping 
him of his sword, allowed him to depart, wondering at the 
same time, what would have been his fate had the Hessian 



MISCELLANEOUS. 461 

been uppermost when they fell. This sword is now in posses- 
sion of a descendant living in Milford, Mass. 

The Malden Beacon. In the fall of 1778, a sergeant's guard 
was posted on Wayte's Mount and a beacon erected there for 
the purpose of warning the country in the event of a descent 
of the enemy upon the coast.^ 

In 1868, the late Artemas Barrett contributed a series of 
Historical Notes to the Maiden Messenger. This was a short 
time before the Melrose Journal \w2iS established. In No. 5, 
Mr. Barrett said; 

I have the original order of Major Gen'l Heath, to the Sergt. of 
the Guard at Maiden Beacon ; by it I learn there was one in Boston. . . . 

Head Quarters, Boston, Sept^ 7, 1778. 

Sir, You are Detached with Seven men for the purpose of Guarding 
the Bacon on Maiden Hill, and Sitting Fire thereto when the Signal 
is Given from the Bacon in Boston. You are to keep a Sentinel Day 
and night by relief at the Bacon, his Duly is to Preserve it from being 
injured by any Person or Persons ^ — ^and Constantly to be observing 
the Bacon in Boston. If He Observes it to be on Fire He is Immedi- 
ately to Call for you. Upon your own view of it, being Certain that 
it is on Fire you will immediately Sit fire to your own, but not other- 
wise, as 3^ou will answer for it. You will Inculcate on your Sentinels 
the greatest Vigilance in Duty and acquaint them that they will be 
liable to Sufifer Death at the Discretion of a court Martial, should they 
be found absent from or Sleeping on their Post 

By order of Major Gen' Heath 
JoNA Pollard D A G 

Serg' of the (juard at Maiden Bacon 

It is not known that the beacon was ever fired. The guard 
consisted of nine men under the command of Sergeant Jona- 
than Brown. 

Action Concerning Tea. Maiden's action on account of the 
pernicious measures passed at different times by Great Britain, 
to raise revenue from the colonics was of the most spirited and 
emphatic nature. Non-importation leagues were formed, and 
many votes were passed concerning England's various attempts 
at enforcement of her acts. EspecialU' emphatic was Maiden's 
action concerning the importation and use of tea. At the 
annual Town Meeting held on the fateful March 5, 1770, one 
of the votes passed was as follows: 

' Corey, History of Ma/dcn, p. 776. 



462 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

That we will not use any foreign Tea, nor countenance ye use of it 
in our Families, (unless for Sickness) till y^ Revenue Acts are repealed. 

Again: 

At a legal Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Maiden the 
13th of Decemr 1773: 

Resolved i. That this Town does cordially & entirely approve of 
the Resolutions entered into by the town of Boston, & the measures 
taken by that town relative to the landing of certain Teas, sent by the 
East India company into the port of Boston, & which are subject to 
an unjust and unconstitutional duty. . . . 

Resolved 3. That as this Town cannot but be of opinion, that the 
success of the measures now taking by the colonies, to prevent the 
baneful influence of these acts of parliament, by which we esteem our- 
selves aggrieved, depends in a great measure upon individuals, there- 
fore they would express their wishes and desires, that every inhabitant 
of the town would prevent the consumption of tea in his family, and 
discourage as much as lies in his power the use of that^herb, so long 
as it shall be subject to the duties laid upon it; and all those persons 
that shall hereafter be concern'd in buying or selling the same, while 
subject to duty, shall be esteemed enemies to their country, and 
treated as such. 

This was three days only before the celebrated "tea party," 
which has been characterized as: 

An event which has never yet been so copiously described nor so 
elaborately considered in its effects as it deserves by the philosophical 
historian. 

It was determined that the tea should not be landed. A 
company of twenty-five was formed to patrol the streets each 
night. Among- these watchmen were John Hancock, Henry 
Knox, Paul Revere and other prominent citizens. 

On the evening of the i6th of December, after Samuel Adams, in 
the excited gathering in the "Old South," had pronounced the fatal 
words : •' This meeting can do nothing more to save the country," and 
some one in the gallery had cried out " Boston Harbor a tea-pot to- 
night ! Hunah for Griffin's Wharf ! " a band of men, several of wliom 
were disguised as Indians, proceeded, in an orderly manner, to the 
wharf, boarded the vessels, and deliberately burst open, with hatchets 
and axes, three hundred and forty-two chests of tea, and spilled their 
contents into the waters below. This tea was valued at ;^ 18,000.'* 

Rkcruiting CoMMriTKE. In October, 1779, during llie time 

^ Goss, Life of Colonel Paul Revert', pp. 127, 8. 



MISCELLA NEO US. 463 

when numerous calls were being made for recruits to be raised 
for the army, one of the meetings called in Maiden was as 
follows: 

To take Under Consideration a Letter wrote from Cap'. Phinehas 
Stearns Dated Oct7 ii, 1779 wrote in Consiquence of A Resolve of 
Court Dated Octo 9. 1 779 for to Raise one Corpral and Eight Privats 
to march to Clavrack on Hudsons River to Joine our Army. 

At this meeting, says Corey, which was adjourned "from the 
meeting house to M!; Charles Hill's West Room," and again 
to " Capl William Wait's house in the west Room," Captain 
William Waite, Lieutenant Bernard Green and Lieutenant 
John Vinton were chosen a committee to hire the men for 
three months, and twenty-two hundred pounds were raised for 
that purpose. 

Lieutenant Vinton was the son of Benoni Vinton, who lived 
in what came to be known as the "Mountain House," corner 
of Vinton and Maple Streets. 

OLD CUSTOMS. 

In the early days there were various municipal regulations 
and ordinances that seem to us of today somewhat curious and 
unnecessary, and which form interesting reading. But it must 
be lemembered that circumstances and surroundings were very 
different then than what they are now; much that was in force 
then has either become obsolete, or has now become custom, 
and no law is requisite. At first men were too busy in felling 
forests and building homes to erect fences and walls; but it 
soon became necessary to take action for the care of cattle, 
sheep and swine; for the cutting of timber, wood, etc. Some 
of the votes, some of the penalties, some of the oddities of our 
mother town here follow: 

In i6q5, the minister received the "Straingers mone>'" in 
addition to his salary; this was an\- contribution made b\' 
individuals attending meeting, but not belonging to the town: 

All the inhabitance of this Town that contrabute to the minestry 
doe pute thare mony in papers with thare names and some of mony in 
it and all those that done not contrabute shall pay in thare money 
quarterly to the deakens and if any man pute in his mony in to the 
box naked it shall be hiked at as Strangers mony and so lowset. 

In 1733, a pauper was cared for by the following cjuaint vote: 



464 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

An account of sundery nesecaries provided for Bethiah wilkison by 
The select men of maiden aprill The 9th day 1733. 

to one pair of tow sheats ;^i-ios-o to one pair of Shoos ;^oo-i2s-o 
to one Apron and handarcheif £oo-c)^ 6 To a Pettycoat and makeing 
;^oo-i5'=-oo To two caps and makeing ;^ 00-6-0 To two cotten and 
lining shifts ;^i-io-3 The aforesaid cloathing parchesed by the five 
pounds money which insign Joseph lynds paid for the yous of the town 
of maiden when chosen constable excepting 2 shillings and 9 penc 
worth of said things entered by order of the select men. 

The records show the rate of taxation in Maiden, in 179635 
follows: 

Oxen and horses at 3d. per head; cows, 2 i-2d. ; three years old, 2; 
two yearlings, i penney; sheep £^ the score; plow land and medo, 
I penny per acre; pasture, 1-2 penny; housing by estimation. 

November 25, 1680, the Town made a contribution of ^^13 5s 
towards the redemption of Thomas Mitchell of Charlestown, 
then in the hands of the " Mohammedan pirates of the Medi- 
terranean;" and in 1686, it was voted 

that the mony that was given towards the redemption of M^ Gold he 
being dead in captivity showed return vnto the Towne for the Townes 
Vse and not vnto his Widdow. 

May 19. 1740, 

It was put to vote, to see if the town would allow Mr. Solomon 
Townsend liberty, on any terms, to pasture a cow, on the burying- 
place ; and it past in the negative. 

March 25, 1742, the selectmen made a rate 

of ^40 old tenor to answer the payments that may be demanded upon 
the town for the extirpation of Black birds, Crows, Squirrels, and 
wharf rats, together with other charges of the town. 

The Bl- Centennial Book has an excellent picture of the days 
of old: 

From a statement made by an aged citizen of the old Colony, it ap- 
pears that seventy years ago [this was written over fifty years ago,] the 
style of living in the rural districts of New England was exceedingly 
homely and plain. In winter there was great uniformity of meals; at 
dinner the first course was a dish of broth, usually called porridge, 
containing beans, and seasoned with summer savory. The second 
course was an Indian pudding with sauce. When the good wife 
arose, while it was yet a great while before day, she set on the big pot, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 4<i:) 

in the yawning cavern of a fire-place ; in which pot was placed a 
substantial Indian pudding, tied up in a stout bag, and left to be boiled 
and bounced in the seething cauldron till the hungry hour of noon, 
when it was turned out, red as a cherry from its long concoction. The 
pudding was followed by a dish of boiled pork and beef, with turnips. 
Potatoes had not then come into general use. We have heard the late 
excellent Mr. Nathan Lynde remark, that when, in his boyhood, [he 
lived in the old homestead on Main Street, corner Goodyear Avenue.] 
they placed three bushels of potatoes in the cellar of his father [Col. 
Joseph Lynde,] who was a large farmer, they wondered what they 
should do with so large a winter stock. Tea, or coffee, or chocolate, 
were reserved for breakfast on Sabbath mornings. On other morn- 
ings, and at the evening meals, milk, with toasted brown bread or 
hasty pudding, was the usual beverage, varied by an occasional mug 
of cider or beer. Pork and beef also were in order on all occasions of 
this kind. The Sunday dinner was dispensed with ; but immediately 
after the afternoon service, the festive board was dignified with roasted 
goose, or turkey, or spare-rib, or stew pie. In the spring and summer, 
milk, which was scarce in winter, was supplied for supper and break- 
fast. Fine wheat flour was not in common use. 

In general, old and young were furnished with their Sunday suit of 
clothes, made so faithfully, and of such substantial materials, supplied 
by the spinning-wheels and looms of the domestic factory, and pre- 
served with such pious economy, as to last for a life time, and descend 
to children's children. Few men expected to live long enough after 
attaining their majority, to wear out a pair of boots, whose leather had 
been nine years in tanning. The common garb of men was a common 
doublet, sometimes called a fly-coat, reaching about half way to the 
thigh ; a striped jacket, and a pair of small clothes. These were made 
of flannel cloth, pulled, but not sheared, and accompanied with flannel 
shirts and stockings, with a silk neckerchief to flourish on grand 
occasions. Shoes and stockings were not worn by the young men, 
nor by many of the older men, w^hile engaged in farming business. 
Boys, as soon as they were out of their petticoats, were garbed like 
their grand-sires, and at once looked little and old. For summer work, 
loose trousers were worn. No young man ever thought of such 
effiminacy as the wearing of a great coat. To cap the climax, a broad 
brimmed hat, looped up in triple cock, surmounted the sturdy frame. 

The women, young and old, horrid to relate ! wore flarnel gowns in 
the winter. The young women in the summer wore wrappers ; and 
while about their ordinary business, dispensed with shoes and stock- 
ings. For bettermost dress, they were usually contented with a single 
calico gown, though many had another of camlet or poplin. The 
sleeves came down to the elbows, and were garnished with a ruffle or 
two, sometimes nine or ten inches deep. Their shoes were made of 



466 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

leather or broadcloth, with heels an inch and a half high, and pointed 
toes, making jDlenty of work for the corn cutters. 

Locomotion. The principal conveyance of families to meetings or 
visits in those times was by nature's tandem. A walk of five or six 
miles for such purposes was considered no hardship, by men or 
women. A forty dollar horse was considered as a prime article ; and 
a rosinante more than nine years old was of no account. A half cord 
of wood, on one of their clumsy wains, was regarded as a monstrous 
load. Chaises, on their first appearance, were considered a piece of 
magnificence betokening great wealth or great pride in the owner. 
We find a curious illustration of this matter in the Diary of the 
Rev. Joseph Emerson. Under date of January 24, 1735, the good 
man says : " Some talk about buying a shay. How much reason have 
I to watch, and pray, and strive against inordinate affection for the 
things of the world." January 31 :" Bought a Shay, ^27, los. The 
Lord grant it may be a comfort and blessing to my family." [In the 
tax return ordered by the State in 1 753, there were but three " chaises " 
in Maiden, five in Medford, four in Lynn, four in Reading, and none 
in Chelsea and Stoneham.] These expressions indicate how sensible 
he was of the great temptations incurred by this important purchase. 
February 5, he says : " Remarked smiling upon my being drawn in a 
Shays. The Lord Jesus has the entire government of the church, and 
to his favor and power I am indebted for such a smile of Providence, 
so very unexpected." Afterwards, however, his stumbling beast ex- 
posed this excellent man and his family to so many perils, as to exciie 
in his mind deep misgiving upon the propriety of his indulging in this 
piece of extravagance. At last, the chaise, causing so much spiritual 
uneasiness to the possessor, and so much envy to his neighbors, is 
disposed of, on the fourth of June, to Rev. Mr. White, who, doubtless, 
in his turn, experienced a similar succession of mental elations, con- 
flicts, and depressions, in consequence of his purchase. 

A Contrast. Though the style of living in the rural districts of New 
England was thus simple and unostentatious, it is well known that in 
the few large and wealthy towns, there were families distinguished for 
the luxury and elegance of their mode of life. The evidence of this is 
seen in the splendor and costliness of apparel, as indicated by old 
portraits, and by relics of faded magnificence kept as heir-looms in 
many families at the present time. This is also indicated by the 
massive pieces of plate so frequently disposed of in testamentary 
bequests ; and in the elaborate carved work and carpentry which 
adorned the old mansions of the wealthier class. 

Prices. In consequence of the depreciation of the Continental 
currency, the town, in 1779, passed a sumptuary law regulating the 
price of various commodities. Among other things, it was fixed: 



MISCELLANEOUS. 407 

That the price of men's good leather shoes should be ^5, 2s, o; and 
women's £7,, i2b, o; that W. I. toddy should be i6s a bowl, and New 
England Rum 12s a bowl. The vote was afterwards reconsidered; 
and it was determined that toddy should be i8s a bowl when made 
with loaf sugar, and i6s when made with brown. 

Funeral Ceremonies. A MSS. of Artemas Barrett states 
that 

Crape, scarfs, gloves, rings and hatbands were provided for the 
mourners which were numerous on such occasions. The body was 
conveyed to the grave on a bier, and where the distance was long as in 
going from this part of the town to Maiden Old Burying Ground, a 
distance of three miles, they would have sometimes sixteen Bearers in 
order to rest each other. They seemed to have a desire for a large 
funeral, and one would think a jolly one. And Gloves, Rings, Wine 
arid Rum were as necessary to bury a Pauper as a Prince. This 
practice continued to about the year 1 800, and even to within my 
recollection was it the practice to furnish the Bearers with Rum. If 
the corpse was a male the men walked first ; if a female the women. 

Concerning Some of our Bird Neighbors. 

How many citizens of Melrose are av^are of the fact that 
we have in our midst a "Robin Roost," where thousands upon 
thousands of our familiar visitors g^ather evening after evening, 
until the season of migration arrives, for a night's repose, 
departing for their various haunts each morning? But such 
is the case. While that indefatigable ornithologist, Bradford 
Torrey — author of Birds in the Bush, A Ramblers Lease, The 
Foot-Path Way, etc., was a resident of Melrose, he discovered, 
what had not been mentioned before (1890) by any ornithol- 
ogical writer, that robins have a roosting place, in which they 
congregate nightly, coming from far and near. Another one 
had been found, but not heralded, a half dozen years before,, 
by William Brewster, in Belmont, Mass. Still another has 
since been located in Cambridge. 

This Melrose roost is situated in the little woods, just south 
of Bennett's Pond, and not faf from the highway of Howard 
Street. For some time Mr. Torrey had suspected something 
of the kind, but it was not until after long and keen observa- 
tion that he felt sure that such was the case, and finally suc- 
ceeded in locating it. He says: 

Every evening, shortly before and after sunset, they were to be seen 



468 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

flying, now singly, now by twos and threes, or even by the half dozen, 
evidently on their way to some rendezvous. I was suspicious of a 
rather distant hill-top covered with pine-trees; but before I could 
make it convenient to visit the place at the proper hour, I discovered, 
quite unexpectedly, that the roost was close by the very road up and 
down which I had been walking ; an isolated piece of swampy wood, 
a few acres in extent, mostly a dense growth of gray birches and 
swamp white oaks, but with a sprinkling of maples and other decidu- 
ous trees. It is bounded on the further side by a wet meadow, and at 
the eastern end by a little ice-pond, with a dwelling-house and other 
buildings beside it, all within a stone's throw of the wood. 

Mr. Torrey made many visits to this roost, from sunset to 
dark, counting the arrivals; and although he could see but a 
portion of the woods, on one occasion he counted 1,533 robins, 
as they entered; and with the aid of a friend one evening, 
2,344 were counted. 

As I have said, there was little to be learned by going into the wood 
after the robins were assembled. Nevertheless I used frequently to 
intrude upon them, especially as friends or neighbors, who had heard 
of my " discovery," were desirous to see the show. The prodigious 
cackling and rustling overhead seemed to make a deep impression 
upon all such visitors, while, for myself, I should have had no difficulty 
in crediting the statement had I been told that ten thousand robins 
were in the tree-tops. 

Mr. Torrey concludes this interesting bird story as follows: 

What I am told of the Belmont wood is true also of the one in Mel- 
rose : its shape and situation are such as to make an accurate census 
impossible, no matter how many enumerators might be employed. 
It could be surrounded easily enough, but it would be out of the 
question to divide the space among the different men so that no two 
of them should count the same birds. At present it can only be said 
that the robins are numbered by thousands ; in some cases, perhaps, 
by tens of thousands. 

Another curious experience is detailed by this critical bird 
observer, in the chapter, "A Woodland Intimate," in his 
A Rambler s Lease. It is about a blue-headed vireo, which he 
found in one of his many rambles in "Sewall's woods," a 
favorite resort of his, for the pursuit of bird studies: 

Quitting the path suddenly, I walked as rapidly as possible straight 
up to the nest, a distance of perhaps three rods, giving her no chance 
to slip off, with the hope of escaping unperceived. The plan worked 



MISCELLANEOUS. 409 

to a charm, or so I flattered myself. When I came to a standstill my 
eyes were within a foot or two of hers ; in fact, I could get no nearer 
without running my head against the branch ; yet she sat quietly, 
apparently without a thought of being driven from her post, turning 
her head this way and that, but making no sound, and showing not 
the least sign of anything like distress, A mosquito buzzed about my 
face, and I brushed it off. Still she sat undisturbed. Then I placed 
my hand against the bottom of the nest. At this she half rose to her 
feet, craning her neck to see what was going on, but the moment I let 
go she settled back upon her charge. ... By this time a daily inter- 
view had come to be counted upon as a matter of course. ... I opened 
my store of dainties, wet the tip of my little finger, took up an insect, 
and held it to her mandibles. For a moment she seemed not to know 
what it was, but soon she picked it off and swallowed it. The second 
one she seized promptly, and the third she reached out to anticipate, 
exactly as a tame canary might have done. Before I could pass her 
the fourth she stepped out of the nest, and took a position upon the 
branch beside it; but she accepted the morsel, none the less. And an 
extremely pretty sight it was — a wild wood bird perched upon a twig 
and feeding from a man's finger ! ... I set out the next morning with 
a little water and a teaspoon, in addition to my ordinary outfit of rose- 
leaves. The mother bird was at home, and without hesitation dipped 
her bill into the water — the very first solitary vireo. I dare be bound, 
that ever drank out of a silver spoon. . . . Within an hour I was 
speeding toward the Green Mountains. There, in those ancient 
Vermont forests, I saw and heard other solitary vireos, but none that 
treated me as my Melrose pair had done. Noble and gentle spirits! 
though I were to live a hundred years, I should never see their like 
again. 

The remainder of the stor}^ is, unhappily, soon told. I was absent 
a fortnight, and on getting back went at once to the sacred oak. Alas ! 
there was nothing but a severed branch to show where the vireo's nest 
had hung. The cut looked recent ; I was thankful for that. Perhaps 
the " collector," whoever he was, had been kind enough to wait till the 
owners of the house were done with it, before he carried it away. Let 
us hope so, at all events, for the peace of his own soul, as well as for 
the sake of the birds. 

Rocks and Minerals of Melrose. 

In the JSIclrosc jfoiinia/, of date March 25, 1893, George F. 
Perry, of No. 22 Adams Street, gave a list of the rocks and 
minerals to be found on our territory, describing them quite 
fully; giving their component parts and characteristics. The 
names only ai-e here given: 



470 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Rocks. Quartsite; slate; micaschist; hornblendie granite; 
felsite, porphyretic, banded, pyritiferous, sperophyric and 
petrosilex; diabase, porphyretic and disintegrated; melaphyre, 
amygdaloidal and brecciated; till; sand, ferruginous and rock 
flour; peat. 

Minerals. Quartz; limonite; hematite; magnetite; iron 
pyrite; hornblende; actirolite; asbestos; calcite; epidote; 
pyrolusite; garnets. 



VALUATION 



Year. Census. 



Dwell- 
ings. 



Polls. Val. Build'ij 



Total Value 
Keal Estate. 



Val. Per- 

soual Est. 



Total 
Valuation. 



1850 


n,260 


125 


317 
335 




185] 




1853 






350 

420 
496 




185:t 




1854 




1855 


1,97G 


361 


523 




1856 


2,20G 




573 

622 




1857 




1858 


2,297 




567 




1859 


2,431 

2. -182 


545 
496 


610 
621 
618 




186U 




1801 




:8G3 




521 


615 




i8o:t 




523 
524 


659 
667 




1864 




1865 


2,8C6 


550 


714 




1866 




550 


761 




1867 




567 


775 




1868 




.586 


825 




I860 


3,181 


590 
629 


800 
S.'O 




1870 




1871 


665 
706 
742 


881 
917 
967 




1872 




18711 




1874 




786 


1,039 




1875 


3,990 


946 


1,099 




1876 


4,185 
4,101 


1,027 
1,037 


1,102 
1,121 




1877 




1878 


4,221 


1,045 


1,183 




187» 


4,3()5 


1,002 


1,203 


.$1,697,350 


1880 


4,443 


1,001 


1,195 


1,729,050 


1881 


4,508 


1,014 


1,226 


1,747,950 


1882 


4,739 


1,038 


1,292 


1,803,425 


IfiSa 


5,071 


1,126 


1 ,388 


2,130,039 


1884 


5,607 


1,206 


1,<U)7 


2,357,814 


1885 


6,110 


1,323 


1,772 


2,585,014 


1886 


6,536 


1,443 


1,870 


2,795,425 


1887 


7,073 


1,580 


1,994 


3,075,925 


1888 


7,535 


1,674 


2,134 


3,360,950 


1889 


7,821 


1,765 


2,204 


3,706,375 


1800 


8,127 


1,911 


2,321 


3,999,375 


1891 


8,827 


2,032 


2,412 


4,272,025 


1892 


9,539 


2,282 


2,723 


4,786,150 


1893 


10,474 


2,484 


3,048 


5,308,500 


1894 


10,847 


2,583 


3,126 


5,677,800 


1895 


11,651 


2,836 


3,361 


6,207,475 


1896 


12,314 


3,022 


3,501 


6,786,100 


1897 


12,520 


3.145 


3,673 


7,143,950 


1898 


12,630 


3,212 


3,690 


7,430,000 


1899 


12,625 


3,233 


3,695 


7,496,100 


1900 


12,676 


3,237 


3,650 


7,582,525 


1901 


12,781 


3,248 


3,711 


7,610,850 


1903 


13,417 


3,280 


3,931 


7,781,400 



$423,497 $59,949 $483,446 

547,974 73,894 621,868 

576,542 74,927 651,469 

800,538 97,139 897,677 

906,794 117,631 1,024,425 

1,021,712 124,785 1,146,497 

1,114,448 136,074 1,250,522 

1,197,476 145,904 1,343,380 

1,165,224 121,883 1,287,107 

1,246,781 122,971 1,369,752 

1,276,150 137,021 1,413,171 

1,288,066 134,755 1,422,820 

1,320,280 126,792 1,447,072 

1,334,643 161,186 1,495,829 

1,329,685 126,057 1,455,742 

1,366,485 311,369 1,677,854 

1,386,502 242,310 1,628,812 

1,511,624 283,682 1,795,306 

1,608,974 365,042 1,974,016 

1,674,985 437,684 2,112,669 

2,100,326 523,933 2,630,259 

2,408,241 404,515 2,812,756 

3,007,928 645,742 3,653,670 

3,234,658 409,249 3,643,907 

3,797,965 380,460 4,178,425 

4,062,450 390,378 4,452,828 

4,178,765 4S8,124 4,666,G89 

3,743,844 451,400 4,195,244 

3,661,500 364,298 4,025,798 

$1,642,900 3,340,250 326,093 3,666,343 

1,626,950 3,356,000 294,384 3,650,384 

1,628,250 3,776,200 328,858 3,705,058 

1,644,425 3,447,850 302,939 3,750,789 

1,690,386 3,829,425 368,376 4,197,801 

1,742,411 4,100,225 369,713 4,469,938 

1,789,236 4,374,250 395,415 4,769,665 

1,872,225 4,667,660 403,750 5,071,400 

2,096,025 5,171,950 430,088 5,602,038 

2,213,755 5,574,705 426,861 6,001,566 

2,315,755 6,022,130 413,490 6,435,620 

2,355,700 6,355,075 369,630 6,724,705 

3,093,275 7,372,025 405,090 7,777,715 

3,379,700 8,165,850 430,715 8,596,565 

3,590,975 8,899,475 500,655 9,400,130 

3,708,975 9,386,775 538,098 9,924,873 

3,874,625 10,082,100 556,650 10,638,750 

4.010.250 10,796.350 f!37.815 11.134.165 

4,306,650 11,450,600 758,215 12,208,815 

4,320,896 11,750,895 724,249 12,475,144 

4,324,260 11,820,350 845,085 12,665,435 

4,398,150 11,980,675 797,690 12,778,365 

5,993,025 13,603,875 1,286,890 14,890,765 

5,927,575 13,708,975 1,656,505 15,365,480 



* Overlay for 1901 and 1902 includes Metropolitan Park tax for three years, viz. 1900, 1901 and 
1902. 



TABLE. 





Rate per 
$1000 


Town 
Appropriation. 


Sewerage 
Tax. 


State Tax. 


County Tax 


. Overlay. 


Total 
Tax Levy. 


Year. 


94 40 

5 50 


§1,472 10 














1850 


3 729 17 








S505 08 


$88 90 


§4,323 15 
4,840 20 


1S51 


50 


4,150 00 










191 43 


1S52 


7 SO 


6,850 00 
8,550 00 
9,200 00 






$270 00 
270 00 
405 00 


505 09 
527 40 

527 40 


108 14 
270 14 
353 09 


7,7.33 23 

0,(il7 54 

10,485 49 


1S5U 


8 50 






1S54 


8 :tu 






1S55 


H 70 


10,450 00 






540 00 


527 40 


398 34 


11,915 74 


1850 


11 77 


15,000 00 






810 00 


659 25 


480 59 


16,949 84 


1S57 


7 20 


9,100 00 






324 00 


570 06 


350 40 


10,344 46 


1S5S 


7 SO 


10,480 00 
10,850 00 






270 00 
226 00 


620 73 

658 74 


399 04 
413 31 


11,769 77 
12,147 05 


1S50 


7 SO 






ISOO 


50 


11,960 00 
13,800 00 
19,125 00 






483 00 
2,929 15 


1,403 15 
1,190 81 


500 00 
268 28 


14,346 15 
18,188 24 


ISOl 


11 GO 






1SA2 


15 SO 






3,864 00 


1,190 81 


880 00 


25,059 81 


iso:i 


l:t 10 


17,550 00 






3,864 00 


1,189 19 




21,150 87 
28,027 34 


1S4(4 


15 70 


17,800 00 






8,413 00 


1,298 01 


516 33 


1SU5 


21 00 


20,343 47 






5,370 00 


1,423 26 




30,1.30 73 


1S06 


le 00 






8,950 00 


1,594 05 




30,490 90 


1S07 


17 00 


28,950 00 
36,100 00 






3,580 00 
4,475 00 


1,650 98 
1,821 77 


1,365 55 
2,225 71 


35,546 53 
44,622 48 


ISOS 


20 00 






ISOO 


15 00 


33,716 00 






4,475 00 


1,821 77 


1,410 13 


41,422 90 


1S70 


15 00 


37,570 00 






4,475 00 


1,821 77 


87 00 


43,053 77 


1S71 


10 50 






3,660 00 


2,122 32 




64,042 46 


is7a 


15 50 


51,325 00 
62,061 84 
65,990 16 






4,117 50 
3,660 00 
3,060 00 


2,345 72 
2,504 53 
2,347 99 


027 04 

909 74 

1,445 10 


58,415 26 
69,136 11 
73,443 25 
62,873 56 


1S73 


15 SO 






1S74 


10 00 






1S75 


i:t 00 


55,585 00 






4,2S4 (H) 


1,405 01 


1,509 55 


1S70 


12 50 


48,107 00 
43,703 06 






3,570 00 
2,380 00 


2,003 03 
1,719 22 


912 53 
2,873 20 


54,682 56 
50,675 57 


1S77 


12 00 






1S7S 


15 00 


51,861 55 






1,190 00 


1,719 22 


2,630 37 


57,401 14 


IS70 


14 25 


47,545 61 
46,624 12 






3,570 00 
3,570 00 


1,793 96 
1,793 96 


1,498 40 
1 ,593 69 


54,407 97 
53,581 66 


ISSO 


13 SO 






ISSl 


14 SO 


50,048 81 
55,303 71 






4,700 00 
3,330 00 


1,703 96 
2,242 45 


1,492 84 
2,268 13 


58,095 61 
63,224 29 


1SS2 


14 40 






1SS3 


l.t SO 


56,777 52 






4,440 00 


2,042 40 


1,639 21 


04,899 13 


1SS4 


14 20 


63,753 64 
65,306 23 
72,350 50 
75,104 03 
79,552 (;9 
85,335 80 
104,0C.l 87 
123,604 46 






?,330 00 
3,030 00 
5,895 00 
5.895 00 
5,880 00 
5,145 00 
4,410 00 
5,7i'7 50 


2,373 35 
2.302 60 
2,750 47 
3,307 77 
4,558 50 
4,733 83 
4,733 83 


1,817 24 
1,112 12 
1,414 56 
1,550 40 
1,923 21 
1,536 56 
1,779 04 


71,274 23 
72,711 04 
82,416 53 
85,857 29 
91,014 40 
96,751 19 
114,984 74 


1SS5 


l.t AO 






1SS6 


14 00 






1SS7 


i:t 00 






1SS8 


1:) 00 






isse 


i:t to 






ISOO 


1 1 20 






ISOl 


15 so 


$646 


75 


0.428 30 


4,834 62 


141,271 72 


IS02 


14 40 


121,014 98 


1,649 


14 


8,225 00 


6,710 22 


3,927 41 


141,532 75 


1S03 


14 24» 


123,852 57 


4,041 


00 


0,680 (O 


7,105 07 


5,514 76 


147,185 20 


1S04 


14 SO 


137,973 25 


5,581 


48 


6,896 00 


9,307 02 


5,418 73 


164,176 48 


1S05 


15 20 


1 .'■>4-.0'^? 74 


r. -81 


48 


r..«77 50 


9.865 44 


3.064 11 


180,981 27 


iso« 


15 GO 


165,521 31 


12.182 21 


0.877 50 


9,307 02 


3.915 46 


197,803 50 


1807 


16 70 


187,636 69 


7,100 42 


6,046 00 


11,018 42 


3.314 37 


215,714 00 


1898 


17 00 


191,391 10 


9,645 


53 


6,645 00 


12,007 07 


3.013 69 


222.702 30 


1899 


18 00 


199,837 41 


0,431 


01 


6,645 00 


11,857 11 


3,309 39 


237,310 57 


1900 


16 30 


206,635 82 


0,727 


23 


7,437 50 


13,388 55 


11,403 29* 


248,052 39 


1901 


17 20 


237,017 27 


10,561 


13 


6,375 00 


13,355 88 


4,838 98« 


272,148 26 


1902 



ADDENDA. 



Page i6. Foot note. Daniel Green, Jr. should read Gould. 

Page 29. Foot note. Read June 17, 1894, instead of 1893. 

Page 133. The location of the "Emerson Tavern" is not clearly indi- 
cated. It was situated on what is now a vacant lot, corner of East 
Emerson and Lebanon Streets. Here >.tood, after the inn was moved 
across to the other side of Lebanon Street, the homestead of the late 
Amos P. Lyude. A few years ago this was removed to the opposite 
side of Lebanon Street, and is now the home of his son, A. Wilbur 
Lynde. The sign of the inn had on it the square and compass, and a 
star. The old well-sweep and Ell Pond Brook are seen in the fore- 
ground. 

Page 289. The names of W. DeHaven Jones and William A. Dole, Civil 
vService Commissioners were omitted. 

In the list of Town and City officers, pp. 280-88, the names of those who 
served the Town as Overseers of the Poor and Highway Surveyors 
were omitted. Most of the time until I8S7, the Selectmen were also 
Overseers of the Poor and Highway Surveyors. That year Henry G. 
Fields, John Singer, Jr., and Martha D. Bale were elected Overseers 
of the Poor. The Board remained the same until 1897, except that 
Joshua T. Nowell was elected in 1893, instead of John Singer, Jr., and 
Thomas VV. Ripley in 1894, instead of Joshua T. Nowell. In 1897 the 
following were elected and served until Melrose became a city: 
Sidney H. Buttrick, Thomas W. Ripley and Matilda E. Stantial. 
James Marshall, George P. Fuller and Walter B. Ellis were elected 
Highway Surveyors in I879, and A. Wilbur Lynde in 1880. The 
Selectmen again resumed both of these duties until 1890, when Walter 
B. Ellis was elected Superintendent of Streets, remaining until 1897, 
when he was succeeded by James Marshall, who served until Melrose 
became a city. 



FIRST PIANO EVER OWNED IN MAI.DEN.' 

It was owued by Rebecca Lvnue Eaton, corner Main Street 

and Goodyear Avenue. 



APPENDIX.-A. 

ACT OF INCORPORATION. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Year One 
Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in 
General Court assembled and by the authority of the same 
as follows: 

Section i. All that part of the town of Maiden, in the 
County of Middlesex, which lies north of the foiiowinf^ line, 
to wit: Beginning at the monument set up at the junction of 
the towns of Saugus, North Chelsea and Maiden; thence run- 
ning north eighty-eight degrees, twelve minutes west, to the 
town of Medford; said line, where it crosses Main Street so 
called, being one hundred and sixty-seven feet south of the 
mile stone standing on the easterly side of said street, south of 
the dwelling house of Joseph Lynde, 2d, and on Washington 
Street, one hundred and twenty-two feet north of the land of 
Robert T. Barrett, on said Street, and the most northerly 
corner of said Barrett's land, adjoining land of John J. Mahoney, 
is hereby incorporated into a town by the name of Melrose; 
and the said town of Melrose is hereby vested with all the 
powers, privileges, rights and immunities, and made subject 
to all the duties and regulations to which other towns are 
entitled and subjected by the constitution and laws of the 
Commonwealth. 

Section 2. The inhabitants of said town of Melrose shall 
be holden to pay all arrearages of taxes, legally assessed upon 
them before the passage of this act, and also their proportion 
of such State and County taxes as may be assessed upon them 
before the taking of the next State valuation (said proportion 
to be ascertained and determined by the last town valuation 
of the town of Maiden) to the Treasurer and Collector of said 
town, and all moneys now in the treasury of said town of 
Maiden, or may hereafter be received from taxes already 
assessed, or directed to be assessed, shall be applied to the 
purposes for which they were raised and assessed in like man- 
ner as if this act had not been passed. 



478 HISTORY OF MELROSE. 

Section 3. The said towns of Maiden and Melrose shall be 
respectively liable for the support of all persons who now do, 
or hereafter shall, stand in need of relief as paupers, whose 
settlement was gained by, or derived from a settlement gained 
or derived within their respective limits. 

Section 4. The inhabitants of the town of Melrose shall be 
holden to pay their just and equitable proportion of all debts 
due from said town of Maiden, and shall be entitled to receive 
their just and equitable proportion of the value of all property, 
real and personal, and of all assets now owned and held by 
said town of Maiden; and in case said towns shall not agree 
in respect to a division of property, funds, debts, town paupers, 
or state or county taxes, the Court of Common Pleas for the 
County of Middlesex, shall upon the petition of either town 
appoint three competent and disinterested persons to hear and 
award thereon, and their award or the award of any two of 
them, being accepted by said court, shall be final. 

Section 5. Any justice of the peace within and for the 
County of Middlesex, may issue his warrant, directed to any 
principal inhabitant of the town of Melrose, requiring him to 
notify and warn the inhabitants thereof, qualified to vote in 
town affairs, to meet at the time and place therein appointed, 
for the purpose of choosing all such town officers, as town 
officers are, by law, authorized and required to choose at their 
annual meetings. Such justice, or, in his absence, such prin- 
ciple inhabitant, shall preside until the choice of moderator of 
said meeting. 

Section 6. The town of Melrose is hereby made liable to 
pay all expenses that may legally accrue, in consequence of 
the action of the County Commissioners, of the County of 
Middlesex upon any petition now pending over any way in the 
town aforesaid. 

Section 7. This act shall take effect, from and after its 
passage. 

House of Retkeskntatives, May 3, 1850. 
Passed to be enacted. 

Ensign H. Kellogg, Speaker. 

In Senate, May 3, 1850. 
Passed to be enacted. 

Marshall P. Wilder, President. 

May 3, 1850. Approved. George N. Briggs. 



APPENDIX.— B. 

REPORT OF ADJUSTMENT COMMITTEE. 

" W/iej'cas, The General Court of Massachusetts by an act 
passed the third day of May, A. D. 1850, did set off and incor- 
porate a portion o£ the town of Maiden, in the County of 
Middlesex to be a Town by the name of Melrose, and by said 
act did authorize and empower the said Towns of Maiden and 
Melrose to make a just and equitable settlement of all the 
financial concerns appertaining to said Towns and of the prop- 
erty belonging- to the same: — and whereas the said Town of 
Maiden at legal meetings of the inhabitants thereof, duly 
called for that purpose, did make choice of Gilbert Haven, 
Lemuel Cox and Daniel A. Perkins as a Committee with full 
power and authority to make such settlement with the inhabi- 
tants of said Melrose. And whereas the said Town of Melrose 
at a legal meeting of the inhabitants thereof duly called for 
that purpose, did make choice of George Emerson, Isaac 
Emerson and Aaron Green as a Committee with full power and 
authority to make such settlement with the inhabitants of said 
Maiden. Now therefore, know all men by these presents, that 
we the above named Committee, having frequently met and 
fully understanding the subject committed to us by said Towns, 
do hereby appraise the property belonging to said Towns of 
Maiden and Melrose, as follows, to wit: 

Real Estate. 

The Alms House, Farm and buildings thereon, . $11,500.00 
The House and land used by the Volunteer Engine 

No. 2, ........ . 1,223.00 

The House and land used by the F^ndeavor Engine 

No. 3, 850.00 

The House and land used by General Taylor 

Engine No. 4, ....... 850.00 

The House and land used by the Hook and Ladder 

Company 300.00 

The Hearse House near Mr. Brintnall's and land 

under the same, ...... 166.OO 



480 



HISTORY OF MELROSE. 



The Pound near Mr. Faulkner's, .... ^90.00 

The Pump and Well, Corner of Salem and Main Sts., 40.00 

Total of Real Estate, .... $15,019.00 



Personal Estate. 

The various Engines with their apparatus, Alms 
House Furniture, Hearses, Iron Safe, etc., 
amounted to ..... . 

Amount raised in 1850 for paying Town Debt, 

Due from the State for Paupers, 

Uncollected Taxes of 1848 and 1849, 

Cash in Treasury March i, 1850, 

Real Estate, 

Total, 

From which was deducted various demands against 
the towns of Maiden and Melrose, which had 
been either paid or assumed by Maiden, amount- 
ing to the sum of ...... 

Leaving a balance to be divided between the two 
towns, of ....... . 

Of which balance the Town of Melrose is to receive 
according to the valuation of 1849, 21 per cent., 

In making this settlement, it is hereby mutually 
agreed that the Town of Maiden shall take and 
hold all the property mentioned in the above 
schedule, according to the appraisement, ex- 
cepting that portion hereafter enumerated, 
which shall be taken and held by the said 
Town of Melrose at said appraisal, viz: 

The Engine house and land, situate in Melrose, 

The Engine Endeavor No. 3, and Apparatus, . 

Furniture in said Engine House, 

Hearse and Harness, and Hearse Runners, 

Total 

The portion of the public property belonging to 
Melrose is ....... . 



$ 71837-56 

2,300.00 

159.00 

939.60 

855.46 

$12,091.62 
1 5. u 1 9.00 

$27,110.62 



$18,033.16 

9,077.46 

$1,906.26 



850.00 

1 ,800.00 

20.00 

110.00 

$2,780.00 
$1,906.26 



APPENDIX. 481 

Leaving a balance due from Melrose to Maiden of, . S873.74 
From this balance the Committees allowed various 

other items amounting to, . . . . . 382.74 



Leaving a total balance against Melrose of . . S491.00 

The Committees agree that the several Burying Grounds 
shall not be appraised, but shall remain the property and be at 
the disposal of the Towns in which the same are located. 

And the said Committees hereby agree that all demands in 
favor or against the Town of Maiden, which originated prior 
to May 3, 1850, which ma)' hereafter come to light, shall be 
settled by and between the two Towns on the same principles 
that have governed this settlement; excepting that Melrose 
shall not be liable to pay any costs that may arise on account 
of any taxes that have been received from the City of Charles- 
town. 

In testimony whereof, we, the said Committees, have here- 
unto interchangeably set our hands and seals this first day of 
May eighteen hundred and fifty-one. 

Gilbert Haven, [seal] 

Lemuel Cox, [seal] 

Daniel A. Perkins, [seal] 

Committee of the Town of Maiden. 
George Emerson, [seal] 
Isaac Emerson, [seal] 

Aaron Green, [seal] 

Committee of the Town of Melrose. 
Executed in presence of 

JoN-^ Cochran. 
William E. Fuller. 
Middlesex, ss.. May i, 1851. 

Then personally appeared the above named Gilbert Haven, 
Lemuel Cox, Daniel A. Perkins, George Emerson, Isaac Emer- 
son and Aaron Green, and acknowledged the above instru* 
ment to be their free act and deed. 

Before me, Jon-^ Cochran, Justice of the Peace. 



APPENDIX.— C. 

AN ACT TO SET OFF A PART OF THE TOWN OF 
STONEHAM AND ANNEX THE SAME TO THE 
TOWN OF MELROSE. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts In the Year One 
Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty-three. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in 
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same 
as follows: 

Section i. So much of the town of Stoneham in the County 
of Middlesex, as lies of a line commencing at the stone monu- 
ment between the towns of Stoneham and Melrose, at the 
Wilson place, and thence running north thirteen degrees, thirty 
minutes; east two hundred and seventy-four rods, to a stone 
monument between the towns of Stoneham and South Reading, 
with all the inhabitants and estates thereon, is hereby set off 
from said town of Stoneham and annexed to said town of 
Melrose. 

Section 2. The said inhabitants and estates so set off shall 
be liable to pay all taxes that have been legally assessed on 
them by the town of Stoneham, in the same manner as if this 
act had not been passed. 

Section 3. If any persons, who have heretofore gained a 
legal settlement in said town of Stoneham, by reason of resi- 
dence on the territory set off as aforesaid, or who may derive 
such settlement from any such residence, shall hereafter come 
to want and stand in need of relief or support as paupers, they 
■"shall be relieved and supported by the town of Melrose, in the 
same manner as if they had gained a legal settlement in that 
town. 

Section 4. The Town of Melrose shall pay to the treasurer 
of the town of Stoneham, until the next decennial census, the 
just proportion of all State and County taxes which may be 
assessed upon said Stoneham, in proportion to the valuation 
of the polls and estates hereby set off to Melrose. The said 



APPENDIX. 483 

proportion shall be fixed by the valuation of the said polls and 
estates next preceding the passage of this act. 

Section 5. In case the surplus revenue of the United States, 
heretofore received by said town of Stoneham, should ever be 
refunded, the town of Melrose shall pay such proportion of the 
same as the valuation of the polls and estates of said territory 
bears to the whole valuation of said town of Stoneham. 

Section 6. The schoolhouse, with lot of land on which 
it stands in said territory, shall be the property of the town of 
Melrose, from and after the passage of this act, and the said 
town of Melrose shall pay to the said town of Stoneham, the 
sum of fifteen hundred and thirty-one dollars as the price of 
the same, in three years after the passage of this act, with 
interest annually. 

Section 7. Peter Green, Jonathan Green, Joshua Green, 
Jesse Green, second, and James S. H. Green, who reside in 
Stoneham, near the territory hereby set off to Melrose, and 
any other occupants of the houses in which the said Greens 
reside, shall have the privilege of sending their children to the 
schoolhouse in said territory and the town of Stoneham shall 
every year pay to the town of Melrose for the schooling of 
said children, so much of the whole sum expended by the town 
of Stoneham for schools and schooling in every year as the 
number of the children so sent to school out of Stoneham into 
Melrose bears to the whole number of children belonging to 
Stoneham attending school during the same year. 

Section 8. This act shall take effect from and after its 
passage. 

House of Representatives, March 12th, 1853. 

Passed to be enacted. 

George Bliss, Speaker. 
In Senate, March 15, 1853. 
Passed to be enacted, 

C. H. Warren, President. 
March 15, 1853. Approved. 

John H. Clifford. 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Benjamin F., 231, 280, 398; 
Guy E., 418 ; John H., 290. 

Abigail, the, 5. 

Abousett [Saugus] River, 5, 31, 32, 
52, 78. 

Academy Hall, 143, 168, 176, 191, 
264, 265. 

Adams, Charles H., 195, 251, 270, 
289, 315, 320, 321, 322, 353, 354, 
360, 381, 386, 400, 402, 415, 416, 
417, 422, 423, 441; Herbert B., 37, 
38; Rev. John, 138; John Q., 231 ; 
Rev. J. Augustus, 139; Rev. John 
G., 17, 126, 168, 169, 367 ; Martha 
A., 126; Richard, 41; Samuel, 459, 
462; William H., 175. 

Adjustment Committee, Report of, 
478-481. 

Amateur Gardeners' Society, 442. 

American Benefit Society, 444. 

American Legion of Honor, 443. 

Ancient Order of Hibernians, 445 ; 
of United Workmen, 443. 

Alden, David A., 228, 449. 

Allen, Charles S., 411; John L., 
227, 230; Rev. Ralph W., 139; 
William H., 175,230, 336; Wil- 
liam S., 163. 

Altamont Avenue, 78. 

Alyward, Patrick, 418. 

Amadou, Arthur F., 272. 

America, 3, 4, 79, 91, 108, 209. 

American Unitarian Association, 
176, 177, 180. 

American Bell Telephone Co., 375. 

Ames, Philander, 294. 

Amesbury, Mass., .192. 

Ammann, Albert, 422. 

Amphion Club, 361-364. 

Anderson, John H. L., 228, 238; 
Leonard, 238 ; Robert, 217. 

Andover, Mass., 42, 70, 71. 

Andrew, John A., 218, 233. 

Andrews, Edwin A., 238 ; John L,., 
231, 285. 



Andros, Edmund, 70. 
Anoka, Minn., 455. 
Anthony, Rev. A. W., 167. 
Anniversaries: Fiftieth, 415 ; One 

Hundredth, 416; Centennial 

Fourth, 417 ; Maiden's 250th, 

417-422. 
Antietam, battle of, 84. 
Antliff, Rev. J. Cooper, 148. 
Appleton, Francis G., 440; Samuel, 

108. 
Appomattox, 236. 
Arlington, [Menotomy], Mass., 

210, 297, 301, 326. 
Armington, Albert H., 451. 
Armstrong, Charles E., 418. 
Ashland Street, 55, 94, 95, 128, 126, 

157. 
Assessors, Town and City, 282, 283. 
Astle, Abel, 231 ; James, 226, 231. 
Atwood, Joel, 231 ; Sullivan C, 231. 
Auditors, Tcwn and City, 285, 286. 
Austin, George L., 368, 408. 
Australian Ballot, 446. 
Avery, Ephraim, 277, 280 ; John Q. 

A., 49; Kittridge, 169, Lester, 

418. 
Avon Club, 359. 
Avon Street, 460. 



Babb, Edward E., 434; Walter, 169, 
172, 192, 223, 226, 231, 277, 281, 
288, 310, 391, 434, 452. 

Babson, Joseph E, 368. 
Bacall, William F., 338, 450. 
Bacon, George A., 221, 224. 
Bailey, William, 343, 350, 397. 
Baker, Charles A., 340; Rev. Henry, 

140, 452; Joseph P., 386; Rev. 

Smith, 151. 
Balch, John, 5. 
Baldwin, Clark B., 246 ; John, 230 ; 

Samuel, 75, 76. 



INDEX. 



485 



Bale, Rev. Albert G., 147, 148, 150. 
151,399,400,452; Martha D., 475, 

Ballou, Rev. Hosea,168, 169, 192. 

Baltimore, Md., 37, 220,;371. 

Bancroft, H., 161. 

Banfield, Addisou W., 224. 

Bangor, Me., 134. 

Baptist Church, First, 120, 139, 155; 
164, 177, 181, 191, 200, 385, 388, 409 ; 
history of, 160-163 ; affiliated so- 
cieties, 163; war contribution, 236. 

Barber, Rev. H. H., 177, 178. 

Barker, JosiahH., 231; Samuel, 231. 

Barnard, John M., 238. 

Barnes, Rev. William S., 163, 176, 
180, 452. 

Barrelle, Rev. Almond, 163. 

Barrett, Artemas, 27, 39, 58, 60, 86 
88, 89, 107, 122, 168, 169, 188, 189, 
206, 212, 231, 264, 265, 280, 289, 
295, 461, 467 ; Augustus, 107, 169, 
230; Charles, 238; Charles L., 
238; David A., 238; Fanny, 107; 
George W., 282, 404; Henry W., 
226 ; Jacob, 104 ; James, 34, 43, 49, 
99, 100, 101, 105, 169; James A., 
230; J. Augustus, 360, 403; Jona- 
than, 16, 48, 98, 101, 102, 103, 104, 
105, 106, 107, 169, 226, 230; Joseph, 
103, 104, 105, 189, 211, 212, 213; 
Peter, 107 ; Rebecca, 102 ; Robert 
T.,476; Simon H., 293; William, 
81 ; William E., 107, 201, 258, 
288, 289, 320, 321, 350, 402, 408, 
454. 

Barrett Block, 404. 

Barrett Lane, 49, 102, 105. 

Barrett Mount, 29, 82, 105, 207. 

Barron, Elliot F., 238 ; Henry, 238. 

Barry. Charles C, 163, 198, 252, 258, 
260, 269, 274, 336, 347, 349, 353, 
354, 360, 362, 363, 402, 413, 415, 449 ; 
Royal P., 175, 176, 192, 193, 196, 
198, 231, 2.38, 260, 268, 287, 293 
295, 298, 304, .305, 319, 338, 341, 
344, 353, 358, 360, 390, 402. 403; 
S. Maria, 341, 343; William 
Francis, 222, 238. 

Bartlett, George W., 231, 4.50; Na- 
thaniel J., 226, 230. 

Barton, Charles J., 262, 267, 269 
272, 276, 281, 415, 418. 

Basford, George W., 160. 

Batchelder, George W., 238; Harry 
A., 281; Peter, 231. 

Bates, Rev. Henry, 167 ; John L.. 
415, 420. 



Battery, C, 246. 

Batts, John, 85. 

Baxter, Charles S., 416; Sylvester 
325. 

Beacham's Point, 9, 77, 86, 214,215. 

Beal, Laban, 362. 

Bear Hill, 24, 34, 35, 326, 327. 

Beard, Rev. Reuben A., 148. 

Bears, George W., 160. 

Beckett, James M., 230, 278, 280. 

Beebe, Decius, 192, 196, 341, 402, 

403 ; Kate E., 341. 
Bellevue Golf Club, 438, 439. 
Bellingham, Richard, 41. 

Belmont, Mass., 297, 301, 326. 467. 
468. 

Belmont Street, 303. 
Bell Rock, Maiden, 441. 
Bemis, Charles V., 290; Frank N., 
419; Rev. Nathaniel, 139. 

Beuneson, Phebe N., 348. 
Bennett, Samuel, 135. 
Bennett's Pond, 31, 32, 35, 321 
467. 

Benson, Hannah E., 341 ; Seth E., 
121, 269, 302-305, 310, 311, 402, 
403, 407 ; Block, 404. 

Berry, George E., 272, 276, 415. 
Bertram, James, 352. 

Berwick Street, 143, 147, 168, 176, 

191, 264, 303, 406. 
Bibliography, 367-382. 
Bi-Ceutennial of Maiden. 144, 208. 

Bickford, Caroline C, 161 ; Ira H., 

230; Nelson W., 238. 
Bicton, Parish, 108. 
Bicknell, George J., 158, 295, 304. 
Biffin, James, 228. 
Bigelow, Francis, 416 ; George T., 

229 ; Liberty, 230 ; Mrs. Liberty, 

51, 53, 83, 84, 118, 344. 
Billerica, Mass., 70,.7l. 
Billings, John D., 424. 
Bird, Sylva, 144; Tristram, 144, ISq. 
Bird Neighbors, 467-489. 
Bishop, Lewis O., 418. 
Black Ann's Corner, 11, 25, 78, 103, 

212. 

Black, Charles E., 418; John A., 
418. 

Black Rock, 13, 26, 28, 67, 81, 309, 
324, 326. 



486 



INDEX. 



Blackstone, Arthur M., 387; Wil- 
liam, 5. 

Blades, James W., 418. 

Blaisdell, Charles H., 226, 230. 

Blake, John, 265, 280, 284, 285, 329, 
409 ; Nathan D., 268, 281, 295, 410- 

Blanchard, Alfred, 160; Annie R., 
403; Samuel D., 232. 

Blaney, Benjamin, 72, 76, 90, 111, 
211, 213, 214, 215. 

Bliss, George, 483. 

Blue Hills, 25, 326, 327; Reserva- 
tion, 25. 

Boardman, Abijah, 134, 135; Block, 
385,-386, 388, 434; Charles, 200, 
230, 238 ; George F., 139, 200, 230, 
282-285, 455; Joseph, 122, 1.34; 
Thomas C, 169. 

Board of Health, established, 316. 

Board of Trade, 382, 414-416, 423. 

Bodwell, Henry A., 238. 

Bogle, Archibald, 238 ; William, 
36, 81, 398, 399. 

Bolles, Rev. Edwin C, 163, 172, 
198, 2.52, 4.53. 

Bond, William, 214. 

Bonett, Andrew J., 409. 

Booth, John Wilkes, 4.52. 

Boothby, Asa, A., 418. 

Bordman, Edward K.,284, 288,349, 
400, 413; Georgianna, 342, 349. 

Bosson, Frank H., 336, 338. 

Boston Harbor, 1, 2, 3, 4, 24. 

Boston, IVfass., 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 17, 
19, 21, 23, 26. 36, 37, 56, 57, 59, 78, 
79, 80, 84, 87, 97, 99, 101, 125, 
138, 145, 151, 173, 177, 191, 192, 
200, 206, 207, 208, 217, 236, 290, 
295, 296, 297, 298, 300, 301, 313, 
321, 325, 327, 328, 33G, 345, 362, 
368, 369, 377, 379, 380, 383, 385, 406, 
407, 4.30, 440, 4.55, 459, 461, 462. 

Boston Rock, 25, 26, 28, 44, 47, 60, 
61, 63, 67,71, 72, 191, 331. 

Boston Rubber Shoe Co., 25, 67, 
163, 164. 

Bourne, Mass., 456. 

Bowden, James G., 362, 363. 

Bowditch, Ernest W., 126. 

Bower, John, 38, 

Bowker, Charles F., 231 ; Joel, 230 ; 
Joseph C, 231. 

Bowles, Rev. Benjamin F., 170. 

Boyd, Charles O., 246; Joseph F,. 
281. 



Boys' Brigade, 442. 

Boynton, E. Moody, 7,8; William, 
281. 

Boyntonville, [Wakefield] Mass., 
303. 

Brackett, Frances A., 152. 

Bradford, Erastus F., 230. 

Brakenbury, Will, 429. 

Brand, Nathan H., 238. 

Brattle Square Church, 208, 209. 

Breeden, Elnathan, 31, 48, 131, 212, 
460. 

Brewster, William, 467. 

Bridge, Ebenezer, 88 ; Rev. Henry 

M., 139. 
Briggs, Andrew H., 359; George, 

E.,340; George N., 478; Moses, 

163, 277, 283, 284; Oliver L., 173. 
Brighton, Mass., 58. 
Brintnall, Thomas, 258. 
Brigham, Arthur L-, 392, 
Briry, William S., 405. 
Brookfield, Mass., 110. 
Brookline, Mass., 56, 319, 320, 326. 
Brooklyn, N. Y., 192, 371. 
Brooks, Augustus, 231 ; Caleb, 213 ; 

Rev. Charles, 9, 458, 459; Chalres 

G., 355. 

Brown, Charles G., 416; Charles 
R., 163; Frank H., 32, 342; 
Frank Q., 403; George C, 231; 
G. Stanley, 405 ; George T., 278, 
310, 311, 318, 319, 329, 390, 408, 
451, 454; Henry, 192, 449, 451; 
John, 18; Jonas G., 238; Jona- 
than, 461; Lindley R., 152, 153; 
Norman B., 164; Orrin, 226, 390; 
Rev. Theron, 420; Rev. Thomas 
W., 179, 180, 423 ; William C, 
423, 440. 

Brownell, Charles M., 339, 340. 

Bruce, Rev. James E., 171. 

Bryant, Dexter, 128, 233, 291, 309, 
359; Napoleon B., 220, 221, 223, 
230, 277, 449; Thomas O., 238; 
Wallace, 199. 

Buck, Rev. Edward H., 147. 

Buckingham, Rev. John A., 176. 

Buckman Street, Maiden, 45. 

Bucknam, Joses, 17, 83 ; Nathan, 
187 ; Samuel, 101 ; Wilton F., 58, 
60, 62, 71, 74, 83, 129. 

Buffum, Adelbert A., 238; Carlon, 
232 ; C. Edgar, 230, 356 ; John, 
142,152, 153. 



INDEX. 



487 



Bugbee & Barrett, 385, 434. 

Bugbee, Francis, 283,404; Saimiel 
S., 230. 

Bunker Hill, Battle of, see Revolu- 
tion. 

Burden, Thankful, 83. 

Burnham, Emma, 146; George 
P., 238, 368 ; Paschal R., 231, 238. 

Burditt, Thomas, 188; vSamuel, 216. 

Burgess, William B., 161, 220, 222, 
228, 231, 277, 278, 280, 282, 285. 

Burke, George W., 316, 392, 419, 
451. 

Burlington, Mass., 10. 

Burnett, Andrew J., 32, 272, 275, 
276, 313, 415. 

Burr, Rev. Everett D., 163; Lafay- 
ette, 412. 

Burrell & Swett Block, 121, 404. 

Burrell, William A., 305. 

Burrill, Rev. J.T., 139. 

Bursley, John, 5. 

Bush, Henry A., 176. 

Butler, Rev. William, 140, 452. 

Buttrick, John P., 231 ; John W., 
231; Sidney H., 172, 194, 198, 257, 
267, 268, 273, 275, 281, 321, 356, 
360, 390, 392, 397, 412, 413, 417, 
418, 435. 

Cabot, Mrs. Edward C, 319, 320. 

Calkins, Alice I., 357. 

Call, Thomas, 429. 

Cambridge, Mass., 8, 10, 56, 63, 70, 

103, 105, 213, 214, 216, 301, 310, 

327, 475. 
Camp Totoway, 133, 
Cape Ann, 3, 5. 
Cape Cod, 2, 3. 

Captain's Hill, see Wayte's Mount. 
Carey, Olive, 144. 
Carleton, Albert A,, 257, 424. 
Carnegie, Andrew, 351-354. 
Carney, Rev. Daniel J., 181. 
Carpenter, Rufus S., 195. 
Carpenters and Joiners of America, 

445. 
Carr, Ernest L., 340, 363; George 

E., 360, 412. 
Carrie, William A., 267, 272, 274, 

281, 299, 352, 414. 
Cascade, the, 26, 28, 307. 
Casey, Cornelius, 257. 
Cass, Albert H . 418. 



Caswell, D. Evans, 165; William A 
392. 

Catholic Church, St. Mary's, see 

St. Mary's Church. 
Causeway Street, Boston, 407. 
Cedar Park, 55. 

Cemeteries. 329-335 ; Bell Rock 
62, 108. 131, 186, 328. 411; For- 
est Dale, 45, 49, 59, 63, 69, 
411; Jewish, 335; Soldiers' Lots 
set apart, 225, 261. 262; Up- 
ham, 117, 328; Village [Old 
Burial Ground], 195, 197, 201. 
328,330, 333, 409; Wyoming, 25. 
44. 45, 49, 60, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71 
121. 131, 134, 166, 257, 410, 424, 
441. 

Cemetery Committees, 329, 332 ■ 

Trust Funds, 333-335, 
Centennial Club, 359. 
Centennial Fourth, the, 417. 
Central R. R. Station, 406. 
Chadbourne, Thomas W., 231,277, 

278, 285, 359, 449. 
Chamberlin, Edmond, 60. 
Chambers, John L., 238. 
Champlain de, vSamuel, 3, 4. 
Chandler, Christie L., 409; Herbert 

W., 333, 409; Roswell W., 238. 
Channel, Guy C. 193. 
Chapin, Calvin N., 147, 151, 152. 

156, 159, 160, 231 ; Joseph A., 238; 

Maria L., 274, 275, 348, 349. 
Charles, Kinsr, 1, 2; Marv L., 275, 

341,348,349. 

Charles River, 1, 3, 5, 56, 57, 77. 
Charles Street, 82. 
Charleston, S. C, 217. 

Charlestown, Mass., "i-Q, 10-13, 16, 
17, 19, 26, 29. 32, 40-42, 45, 51. 56, 
57, 58, 62. 70, 71. 77-81, 91, 94, 97, 
98. {)9. 118. 134. 207, 209, 372, 390, 
400, 401, 464. 

Chase, Daniel L , 226 ; Ede K., 2.39 ; 
George W., 317. 

Charitable Associations, 411. 412. 

Cheese Rock, see Bear Hill. 

Cheeseborough, William, 11. 

Cheever, .\ugustus L., 239. 

Chelmsford, Mass., 70, 71. 

Chelsea Creek, 9. 

Chelsea. Mass., 5, 25, '{6. 41-45, 47- 
49, 143, 212, 214. 296. 297, 30], 
405, 406, 457, 466, 477. 

Chelsea Street, Everett, 45. 



488 



INDEX. 



Chestnut Hill Reservoir, 35, 296, 

298. 
Chestnut Street, 201. 
Cheever, Augustus L., 227 ; Frank 

H., 392. 

Chever, Sarah A., 127, 349. 

Chicago, 111., 158, 181, 372, 373, 
376, 377, 394. 

Chickering, Elmer, 382. 

Child, Horace E., 403. 

Children of the Revolution, 442. 

Chipman Avenue, 125, 436, 437. 

Chipman's Folly, 125. 

Chipman, George A., 231, 239; 
George W., 156. 

Christian and Sanitary Commis- 
sions, 235, 236. 

Church, Asa 44; Joanna, 200. 

Churchill, J. Wesley, 177, 3.59. 

Chute, Robert J., 172, 23u. 

Cider Mill, the, 160. 

City [Town] Hall, 29, 31, 51, 121, 
155, 251. 2.54, 250, 261, 264-267, 
273, 292, 320, 323, 328, 340, 342, 
348, 353, 360, 362, 376, 382, 383, 
388, 391, 394-97, 399, 402, 406, 
413, 415-417, 424, 452,453. 

City Solicitor, 286. 

Civil War [Great Rebellion of 1861- 
65], 84 ; history of, 216-263 ; Fort 
Sumter fired on, 217; votes rela- 
tive to, 219; conscription act, 
drafts, 225-228 ; list of first draft, 
226, 227; recruiting committees, 
222, 227, 228 ; second draft, 228 ; 
list subscribers to $5,650 war 
fund, 229-232, 235; battles, 234, 
236; representative recruits, 233; 
relief action, 234-236 ; Christian 
and Sanitary Commissions, 235, 
236 ; citizen service resume, 236 ; 
alphabetical list of soldiers, 238- 
244; minute men of 1861, 245; 
medals, 245; list for bounty, 259. 

Clapp, Otis 73. 

Clark, Frederick F , 239 ; Henry H., 
178; Rev. Hobart, 180; James Free- 
man, 371 ; John H., 220, 221, 222, 
228, 229, 230, 278, 280, 281, 347, 
394; Julius S., 193, 256, 261, 329, 
408, 450; William, 231, 228. 

Clerks, Town and City, 283, 284. 

Cleveland, Rev. Aaron, 457; Rev. 
George A., 163, 164; Grover, 404. 

Cleveland Street, 52, 90. 

Cliflford, John H., 483. 



Clinkard, Caroline W., 368. 
Clithero, Thomas J., 1.57. 
Close, Emery, 231. 
Cobb, John W., 230 ; Rev. Sylvauus, 
168, 192. 

Coburu, Lewis G., 230, 235, 284. 

Cochrane, Charles W., 454; Char- 
lotte, 349; Emily G., 97; Isaac 
A., 1.52, 1.53; Jonathan, 143, 144, 
147, 150, 264, 265, 280, 282, 283, 
285, 329, .331, 398, 425, 481; Lo- 
renzo H. M., 307; Mary, 144; 
Maurice G., 22, 97, 147, 320, 321 ; 
Nelson, 1.50, 152, 191, 223, 231, 
278, 280, 289, 308. 

Cogan, John, 92; Martha, 92. 

Coggswell, Charles H., 33. 

Colby, Rev. Lewis, 163. 

Cole, Edward C, 418; John, 207. 

Collectors, Town and City, 284. 

College Hill, 25. 

Collins, Walter R., 169, 231. 

Ctilman, John, 188. 

Committees of Correspondence In- 
spection and Safety, 124, 208. 

Commons, The, 16-20, 42, 45, 51, 
76, 82, 93, 94. 

Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 3. 

Concert Hall, 139, 176, 177, 219, 

265, 347, 388. 
Conant, Roger, 5; William F., 180, 

411. 

Concord Fight, 86. 
Concord, Mass., 86, 87, 459. 
Cone, Edwin T., 166. 

Converse, Betsey, 161; Edward, 59; 

Elisha S.. 45, 66, 67, 193, 290, 420; 

Josiah, 47; Josias, 62; Mary D., 

69. 
Conway, Daniel, 232 ; John 230. 
Cook, Charles W., 194, 281, 283, 301, 

410; Israel, 212, 430, 4.59, 460; 

William, 226; William P., 451. 
Cooledge, Rev. J. A., 170. 
Cooney, Rev. L. A., 164. 
Cooper, Rev. James, 163, 220. 
Copeland, Anne C, 294; Benjamin 

F., 371; Charles, 297, 371. 
Copp's Hill, Boston, 101. 
Corson, J. V., 409. 

Corey, Deloraine P., 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 
14, 15, 19, 20, 25, 30, 31, 39, 42, 45, 
49, 55, 59, 65, 72, 76, 77, 78, 82, 90, 



INDEX. 



489 



123, 129, 131, 132, 187, 208, 210, 
213, 307, 420, 421, 422, 42'J, 457, 
458, 401, 403. 

Corey Place, 306. 
Corson, Frederick l^, 230. 
Cornwall, George E., 275, 270. 
Cottage Street, 47, 54, 55, 81, 118, 
413. 

Count Rumford, 209. 
County Commissioners, 308, 309, 
310, 311, 312, 450, 451, 477. 

Cox, Caroline M., 152; Charles M. 
252, 414, 419; George P., 290; 
Herbert M., 340; James P., 239; 
Lemuel. 23, 478, 480; Unite, 51, 
211, 212, 213, 214. 

Covtmore, Martha, 29 ; Thomas, 

13. 19, 29, 41, 81, 91, 92. 
Coytmore Mill, the, 70, 81. 
Cowhey, Thomas, 231. 
Craddock, Matthew, 11, 77. 
Crafts, Sarah G., 77. 
Cragin, Edwin L., 286. 
Cramton, Samuel, 1. 
Crane, James, 206. 
Crocker, John, 169, 449; John. H., 

227, 239; Joseph C, 171, 239. 

Crockett, Albert W., 239; George 

F., 239. 
Crolly, John C, 403. 
Cromwell, Oliver, 91. 
Crooker, Patty, 77. 
Crosby, Anthony, 169, 221, 230. 
Crosett, Elizabeth D., 144; James 

L., 143, 144. 
Crowley, Jeremiah, 230. 
Crystal Lake [Smith's Pond], 16. 
Crystal Lake Boat Club, 31. 
Cud worth, Rev. Warren H., 177. 
Culver, Rev. David, 139. 
Curfew Bell, 454-456. 
Curtis, Don E., 151, 1.52, 153, 272, 

276, 340; George William, 81, 
359; James O., 290. 

Currier, A. C. Marie, 341 ; James C, 

277, 280, 281, 283, 289, 347, 389; 
John H., 239; John K., 281. 

Cushman, Thomas L., 362. 
Cutler, Rev. Julian vS., 172, 451. 
Cutter, Ephraim, 303, 3()2. 
Cutting, William II., 239. 
Cuttyhunk, Mass., 2. 



Daggett, Sara, 440. 

Dame, Frank ()., 2.30. 

Damon, Frank II., 272. 

Dana, Charles, 167; Stephen, 2H. 

Danforth, Thomas, 12, 429. 

Daniels. Charles H., 151; J. B., 231. 

Dan vers Insane Asylum, 24, 326. 

Dark Day, 85. 

Dark Hollow Pond, 28, 35, 325. 

Daughters of the Revolution, 441 ; 
of the American Revolution, 439. 

Davidson, John, 07 ; David G., 386. 

Davis, Rev. B. H., 170; Rev. Charles 
E., 140; Edmun.l W., 226, 239 
George L., 180; James L., 239 
Jefferson, 217; John E., 239 
Loammi G., 239; William T., 13, 

Dawes, Ambrose, 2.39. 

Day, Albert A., 262; Benjamin B., 
109; Joseph M., 233; Sarah A., 
272, 276. 

Days of old, 464-467. 

Day Street, 122, 165. 

Dayton, Ohio, 378. 

Dean, Charles L., 312, 416, 420. 

Dearborn, Bessie B., 272, 275; George 
H., 180, 193, 194, 289, 358-300; 
Samuel O., 223, 231, 282, 285, 289, 
308, 407. 

Dedham, Mass., 207. 

Deere, Rev. George H., 170. 

Deering, Elizabeth H., 253 ; John 
P., 262, 269, 281, 301, 319, 329, 332, 
390, 403, 410. 

Degen, Rev. H. V., 139. 

Delaware Bay, 4. 

Dell Avenue, 122, 162, 181, 182, 246. 

DeLong, Rev. Henry C, 177, 17*. 

Dennis, George M., 323, 460; Rev. 
Joseph S., 170. 

Deshon, Francis, 239. 

Dew, George W., 451. 

Dewey, George, 365, 436. 

DeWolfe, Louisa M., 175 ; 1'. Mor- 
ton, 175. 

Dexter, Rev. Ileiirv M., 4 ; John, 
15, 206, 210; Richard, 41, 43; 
William, 124. 

Dexter's Rocks, 51, 52. 

Dike, John, 195. 

Dill, Jesse A.. 193, 415, 451. 

Dillingham, James B., 418. 

Divver, Neil A., 274, 275, 348, 349. 



490 



INDEX. 



Dix, William, 121, 161, 191, 328; 

John, 133; Joseph O., 239; Mary 

E., 348, 394. 
Dix Pond, 31, 51, 121, 265, 320, 389. 
Dodge, J. Wesley, 25; James W., 

226. 
Doherty, John,31,48, 78, 180; Wil- 
liam H., 392. 
Dole, William A., 475 ; William 

H., 273, 275, 316, 317. 
Doleful Pond, 28, 35, 91, 315, 322, 

325. 
Domesday Book, 108. 
Donalavy, William, 226, 228. 
Dore, Rev. John P., 181. 
Dorchester, Mass., 8, 80. 
Dorchester, Daniel, 369. 
Dorrell, John, 5. 
Double, Edmund B., 239. 
Dow, Alice B., 341 ; D. Webster, 

319, 360 ; Ivewis E., 382 ; Richard 

E., 365,423. 
Downing, Albert, 416. 
Drake, Grant, 362; Samuel Adams, 

11, 256, 358, 360, 369, 458. 
Drayton, J. Spencer, 239. 
Drown, Frank B., 418 ; Osborne E., 

392 ; Walter E., 418. 
Duck Pen, the, 147, 160. 
Dudley, Thomas, 78. 
Dummer, William, 15. 
Dunham, Jacob, 277. 
Dunnell, Thomas, 131. 
Duntou, Aubrey W., 386, 403. 
Durant, Augustus, 155, 449. 
Durham, Maine, 372. 
Durrell, O. H., 252. 
Duxbury, Mass , 369, 372. 
Dyer, Benjamin F., 128; David, 

293 ; Jabez S., 363, 403 ; N. Mayo, 

239, 248-250, 252, 415, 436, 441. 
Dyer Dam Case, 307, 309, 310. 

Earl, William H., 239. 
Earthquakes, 98. 
Eastburn, Rt. Rev. Mauton, 173. 
Eastman's Block, 120, 434. 

Eastman, Moses, 169; M. Frank 
171, 274, 284, 451; Hall, 167 
Mary E., 404; Susan E., 404 
William H., 239, 260. 

East Side, 19, 36, 74, 101. 

East Side Mission, 142. 

East Street, 134, 142, 406. 



Easton, Rev. D. C, 164. 

Eaton, Charles W., 276 ; John, 40 ; 

Lilley, 14; Nathan, 211, 212, 213, 

214; Rebecca Lynde, 66, 475. 
Eddy, Rev. Richard, 171, 172, 178, 

256, 369, 452. 
Edgell, Benjamin, 213. 
Edgerly, Obadiah S., 230; Peter, 

230. 

Edgeworth [Maiden], 67. 
Edmands, Bradford, 227. 
Edmonds, Charles H., 281, 282, 283. 
Edmunds, John, 31, 32, 48, 49, 87, 

111, 212, 258, 460 . Lillian D., 405. 
Edwards, Charles W., 391 ; Frank 

M., 347; Joseph, 273, 283, 409. 
Eleventh Street, 194. 
Eliot, George W., 239 ; John, 33. 
Elizabeth Island, 2. 
Ellis, Jacob M., 239, 455; Martin, 

169, 231 ; P. Russell, 230 ; Rev. 

Rufus, 177 ; Walter B., 390, 475 ; 

W. Irving, 175, 192, 193, 289, 294, 

296, 329, 360, 454. 
Ellison, Charles W., 404, 451 ; 

Samuel, 419. 
Ellms, Frederick A., 160. 
Ell Pond, 16, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31, 33, 

38, 41, 42, 44, 53, 79, 81, 82, 84, 91, 

92, 118, 119, 120, 137, 296, 307, 308, 

312, 321, 323, 385, 400, 409, 423. 

Ell Pond Brook, 35, 53, 120, 191, 
475. 

Ellsworth Avenue, 125. 

Elm Street, 323, 460. 

Ely, Justin, 133. 

Emerson, Carl S., 418; George, 23, 
107, 139, 221, 222, 230, 232, 266, 
277, 280, 282, 285, 329, 349, 359, 360, 
366, 409, 411, 478, 480; George 
W., 221, 223, 226; Isaac, 23, 120, 
134, 139, 141, 221, 222, 223, 227, 
229, 230, 264, 265, 266, 277, 280, 
282, 284, 285, 289, 328, 478, 480 ; 
James G., 200, 239, 390, 419; James 
W., 239, 391 ; Rev. Joseph, 64, 
124, 188, 466 ; Joseph S., 227, 239 ; 
Mary, 123, 124; R. Watson, 139, 
221, 223, 230 ; Walter, 366 ; Rev. 
Warren, 51, 133; William, 51, 54, 
132, 133, 134, 189, 258. 

Emerson Street, 54, 81, 114, 134, 
173, 177, 192, 194, 323, 336, 352, 
353, 410, 434, 441, 475. 

Emery, Rev. John N., 170, 171 ;" 
Joshua, 227 ; Stephen, 329 ; Wash- 
burn, 450. 



INDEX. 



491 



Endicott, John, 5, 77. 

Eriksen, Lief, 3. 

Essex County, 28, 32G. 

Essex Street, 54, 55, 81, 120, 121. 
139, 143, 151, 1G9, 171, 173, 176, 
303, 306, 336, 347. 383, 385, 388, 
394, 397, 4)4, 400, 431, 434. 

Estabrook, Rev. R. D., 139. 

Esty, Charles F., 219, 277. 

Evans, E. P., 282 ; Henry, 19 ; John, 
15; Nathaniel, 15; Samuel, 15; 
Thomas C, 221, 239. 

Evanston, 111., 376. 

Everett [South Maiden], Mass., 
9, 10, 11, 25, 45, 99, 143, 183, 208, 
296, 297, 301, 407, 416, 417, 420, 
441. 

Everett, Edward, 218: Fred E., 
272, 275, 276, 313, 315. 

Fairbairn, John A., 416. 

Fairbanks, David, 169, 172,221,233, 
282, 283, 284, 346; Rev. George W., 
139; Joseph A., 226, 230; John 
W., 221, 222. 

Fall, George H., 120. 

Faneuil Hall, 217, 440. 

Fargo, Charles O., 240. 

Farley, F. A.. 192. 

Farnsworth, George W., 143, 228, 
282; William J., 21, 22, 161,264, 
265, 280, 281, 282, 285, 308. 

Farragut, David G., 248, 249. 

Farrar, Geraldine, 365, 366 ; Sidney 
D., 281, 365. 

Farrell, Michael, 240. 

Farwell, John W.. 65, 193, 194, 257, 
269, 287, 289, 293, 295, 298, 318, 
319, 341, 358, 360, 388, 389, 397, 
402, 403; Ruby F., 274, 275, 341, 
342, 348, 349. 

Farwell Street, 166. 

Faulkner Place, 121. 

Fawcett, Winthrop S., 160. 

Fay, Charles E., 326. 

Feake, Robert, 12. 

Fells, the, 164, 193, 405. 

Fells Baptist Church, 193 ; History 
of, 163, 164. 

Felt, George, 43. 

Ferdinand, Jasper F., 232. 

Fernald, B. Marvin, 26, 195, 288, 
289, 298, 341, 417; Clarence T., 
272, 276, 303, 313, 315 ; Grace, 342. 

Ferry Street, Maiden, 400. 



Field, Charles, M., 451. 
Fielding, Thomas C, 399, 400. 
Fields, Henry G., 121, 281, 310, 409, 

451, 475. 
Fiftieth Anniversary, 415, 416. 
Finnegan, Dennis, 231 ; Edward, 

227; William, 231. 

Fire Department: Central Fire Sta- 
tion, :J91, 392, 409 ; Gamewell Fire 
Alarm System, 390; Grundy Hose 
Co., 390; Highlands Hose Co., 
392 ; Hose Co., No. 1, 392 ; Liberty 
Bigelow Hook & Ladder Co., 391, 
392; N. D. Blake Hose Co.. 390, 
392; Old Endeavor No. 3, 388, 
389, 418, 422, 479; William E. 
Barrett Hose Co., 392 ; Wyoming 
Hose Co., 390. 

First Street, 115, 194. 

Fish, Stephen, 40. 

Fisher, George W., 231, 240. 

Fiske, C. Andrews, 418 ; John, 3; 
Mary T., 174; Rev. Serene, 138; 
Wilbur D., 278, 295, 418. 

Fitzpatrick, Rev. William H., 181. 

Flagg, John, 31 ; Rev. Joshua, 108. 

Flanders, Susan F., 272 ; William 
H., 163, 252, 338, 340. 

Fletcher. George M., 220, 222, 228, 
230, 280, 282, 284. 

Flint, Frances A., 174; George, 40; 

Mason M., 283; Rufus H., 280, 

282. 
Florence Street, 82. 
Floyd, John, 94; Joseph, 20, 51, 52. 
Folger, Arthur H., 272, 274, 270, 

313. 
Folsom, William N., 268, 276, :505, 

318, 319, 413, 450. 
Fordell Park, 28. 
Foresters of America, 444. 
Forest Street, Maiden, 45, 47, 49, 

51, 52, 54, 59, 63. 
For sy the, George R., 230. 
Fort Independence, 220. 
Fort Norunibega, 3. 
Fortress Munroe, 218. 
" Forty-niners," 4.56. 
Foss, James T., 240. 
Foster, Daniel W., 230; Frank W., 

272, 275, 313 ; Rev. Randolph S., 

141; Verdi C, 418; William, 84. 

Foster Street. 47. 54, 55. 74, 81, 82, 



492 



INDEX. 



83, 84, 87, 105, 106, 117, 118, 120, 
144, 147, 192, 212, 318, 323, 328, 
341, 344, 388, 392, 404, 413, 435. 

Fountain, Francis, 231. 

Fountainville, 460. 

Fowler, Charles N., 414, 419. 

Francis, J. S., 258. 

Franklin, Albert B., 151-156, 192, 
194, 273, 275, 276, 336-340, 352. 

Franklin Fraternity, 346, 349, 355, 

. 356. 

Franklin Hall, 171. 

Franklin Square, 406. 

Franklin Street, 28, 33, 36, 47, 91, 
92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 122, 125, 126, 127, 
129, 156, 157, 164, 165, 166, 187, 
192, 193, 261, 303, 392, 405. 

Fraternal Societies, 443-5. 

Frederick, Charles W. H., 276. 

Free Baptist Church, First, History 
of, 166-168; Affiliated Societies, 
168. 

Freeman, Leander T., 226 ; Thom- 
as, 231. 

Freemasonry, 431-434. 

French, Alfred H., 418; Charles 
E., 125, 272, 275, 276, 437. 

French, English and Indian War, 
85, 98, 206. 

Friend, Victor A., 414, 416, 449. 

Frost, Rev. Leonard, 138; Oscar 
F., 262, 269, 329, 412, 414, 416, 
423, 451. 

Frothinghani, Richard, 77, 79, 80. 

Fry, James, B., 225. 

Fuller, Albert H., 418; George A. 
124; George E., 392; George P, 
240, 450, 475; Henry F., 240 
Lorin L., 169, 289; Virgil W. 
262; William A., 227, 228, 240 
William E., 228, 280, 282, 481. 

Furnas, H., 336. 

Furneaux, Charles, 230. 

Gage, Sarah E.,73. 

Gallagher, Richard, 240. 

Gardner, Elbridge, 222, 230, 280; 
H,. 124. 

Garfield, James Abram, 452. 
Garrison, William Lloyd, 359, 379. 
Gately, George T., 347 ; John, 232. 
General Court, Acts of, 41-43, 47, 

62, 82-84, 91, 107-llC, 289. 
Genu, Edith S., 357. 
George, Rev. Nathan D., 139. 



Georgetown, Mass., 165. 

Gerry, Robert, 32, 190, 202; auto- 
graph, 191. 

Geyer, Julius, 418. 

Gibbons, Robert, 392; Rosa M., 
348. 

Gibson, Daniel E., 276, 423. 
Gihon, Edward J., 252. 

Gilbert, Humphrey, 3 ; Rev. Sel- 
den, 170. 

Gilchrist, George E., 272, 338. 
Gilman, G. W., 231; Levi W., 167. 
Gilmore, Patrick S., 361, 366; Wil- 
liam M., 231. 

Glazier, Harlan E., 180. 

Gleasou, Rev. Thomas, 181. 

Glen Street, 74. 

Glover, George H., 365, 423 ; John, 
133. 

Glynn, Rev. Francis J., 181, 183, 
195, 429. 

Gooch, Daniel W., 36, 73, 192, 230, 
235, 256, 257, 261, 277, 289, 290, 
318, 349, 370, 407, 411, 412, 413, 
452; member of Congress, 288; 
naval officer, 288 ; pension agent, 
288; Hannah P., 349; William 
W., 349. 

Gooch Street, 115. 
Good now, Helen, 200. 
Goodwin, Joseph, 226, 228. 
Goodyear Avenue, 61, 164, 349, 405, 
465. 

Gordon, Charles P., 173; Curtis S., 
226 ; William F., 226. 

Gorges, Ferdiuando, 4 ; Robert, 
4, 6. 

Gosuold, Bartholomew, 2, 4. 

Goss, Allen C, 55, 224, 230, 360, 413, 
451; Charles B., 451; Curtis C, 
151, 152, 153, 194, 195, 269, 272, 
295, 299, 313, 411; Dr., 88, 89; 
Elbridge H., 148, 151, 152, 153, 221, 
226, 230, 257, 260, 262, 270, 273, 
274, 275, 285, 289, 294, 299, 336, 
347, 348, 349, 353, 354, 358, 359, 
360, 381, 382, 399, 400, 402, 416, 
417, 420, 423, 439, 440, 449, 451, 
462; Frank M., 434; Fred M., 
434; Willis C, 320, 417. 

Goudey, William E. C, 354. 

Gould, Albert A., 231, 475 ; Daniel, 
16; David, 34; Edwin C, 143, 
255, 257, 273, 275, 276, 286, 330, 
383, 424 ; Jacob, 34 ; John, 105, 
211, 212, 213; Levi, 143, 144, 150, 



INDEX. 



498 



152, 191, 389; Levi S , 66. 79, 91, 
143, 190, 223, 229, 230, 2r)G, 2.J7, 
267-26!), 272, 273, 275, 278-281, 
285, 289, 294, 301. 304. 308, 309, 
311-314, 319, 331, 332, 348, 354, 381, 

389, 397, 400, 403, 408, 413, 415- 
417, 420, 422, 423, 432; county 
commissioner, 289. 

Gow, Rev. John R., 163. 
Grand Army of the Repuhlic, 254; 
Hall, 257, 261. 

Grant, Frederick D., 255 ; Ulysses 

S., 254, 255,256, 452. 
Graves, Thomas, 6, 7. 

Gray, Henry C, 385; George M., 
403. 

Great Fire Nov. 30, 1875, 139. 

Great Rebellion of 1861-65, see 
Civil War. 

Green [Greene], Aaron, 21, 22, 23, 
75, 94, 97, 106, 168, 232, 264, 265, 
277, 282, 284, 285, 331, 479, 481; 
Abigail, 94 ; Augustus, 240 ; Ben- 
jamin F., 230; Bernard, 124, 189, 
458, 459, 463; B. Franklin, 169; 
Rev. Bowley, 165 ; Daniel, 96, 
216, 475; Darius, 206; David, 15, 
117; Elbridge, 22, 97, 169, 231, 
264, 265, 277, 282, 283, 291, 309, 
329 ; Elizabeth, 91, 95 ; Ezra, 430, 
458 ; Hannah, 95, 122 ; Harry, 
418 ; Henry, 18, 93, 94, 96, 185 ; 
Isaac, 15, 94, 95, 105, 106 ; Jabez, 
98; Jacob, 96; Rev. J. B., 177; 
James, 51, 62, 136; James S. H., 
483 ; Jesse 483; John, 15, 17, 18, 
20, 47, 70, 77, 92-94, 96, 98, 
124, 187, 207; John H., 169; 
Jonas, 15, 32, 94 ; Joseph, 16, 95, 
126 ; Joseph H., 169, 230, 338; 
Jonathan, 16, 95, 97, 98, 216, 483 ; 
Joshua, 483 ; Josiah, 95 ; L,anman, 

390. Levi W., 97; Martin, 240; 
Mary, 96, 106, 122 ; Peter, 97, 
483; Rebecca, 95; Reuben, 97: 
vSamuel, 15, 20, 32, 93, 94, 98, 136 ; 
Sarah, 94, 95 ; Susanna, 95 ; 
Thomas, 15, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 
97, 187, 207; William, 14, 15, 70, 
93, 94, 96, 187, 206. 

Greenfield, Mass., 89. 

Greenland, 3. 

Greenland, John, 18, 43, 51, 101, 

184. 
Green Street, 16, 36, 44, 55, 134, 

138, 160, 166, 191, 201. 323, 388, 

405, 406, 430, 451, 459. 460. 
Greenwood [Wakefield], Mass., 15, 

16, 28, 36, 41, 54, 91, 98, 129, 303. 



Greenwood Street, 126, 303. 

Griswold, Rev. Francis A., 139. 

Groton, Mass., 131. 

Grouard, George W., 439. 

Grout, Francis J., 152 ; Henry F 
176. 

Grove Street, 19, 47, 54, 55, 73, 143, 
181, 188, 193, 264, 303, 318, 406. 

Grover, Andrew J., 240; John, 31, 
73, 211-214; George W., 65, 227 
240,390; John C, 240; vSamuel, 
48, 73, 215; Stephen, 60; Thomas, 
60 ; Simon, 60, 101 ; William W. 
240. 

Grundy, Edward L., 390; Joseiili 
390. 

Guiteau, Charles J., 452. 

Hackett, Rev. William W., 163, 164. 

Hadley, Mass., 108. 

Hale, Rev. Edward Everett, 32; 

Robert. 29, 42, 92. 
Haley, Reuben T., 232. 
Hall, Benjamin, 459. 
Hallett, Samuel C, 451. 
Hamlin, Hannibal, 417, 448. 
Hammond, George, 227, 240. 
Hauaford, Rev. Jeremiah L , 140, 

141, 451. 

Hancock, John, 459, 462. 
Hanley, Michael J., 392. 
Hanson, Rev. John W., 218. 
Harding, Elvin W., 362. 
Hare, Andrew, 240. 
Harlow, Corydon W., 316. 

Harnden, Ebenezer, 48, 104, 208, 
216; John, 216; Richard, 40. 

Harrington, Samuel, 358. 

Harris, Gilbert N., 255, 283, 286; 

Samuel, 152. 
Harrison, William H., 418. 
Harrold, Susan P., 152. 
Hart, Abner B., 240; Asa. 258; 

George, 230, 343, 402; Thomas 

N., 200. 
Hart's Hill, 322. 
Hartwell, Richardson & Driver, 

153, 154, 338. 

Harvard University, 177, 
Harvej-, Franklin, 240. 
Haskell, Andrew W., 344. 
Hastings, William A., 416, 



494 



INDEX. 



Hatch, Fred L., 414; Naylor, 86, 

90, 213, 214, 215 ; Rev. William 

H., 139. 
Hatfield, Rev. Byron U., 165. 
Haven, Rev. E. O., 139; Gilbert, 

23, 266, 478, 480 ; Harry E., 418. 
Haverhill, Mass., 42, 375, 378. 
Hawkes, Cynthia H., 120. 
Hawkins, Thomas, 228. 
Hay, Peter, 16. 
Hayes, Benjamin P., 290; EHhn B., 

253. 
Haynes, Joseph W., 240. 
Hayward, Rev. C, 139; Jabez G., 

231 ; John, 56, 57 ; Paul, 160. 
Haywardville Rubber Co., [Red 

Mills] 294. 
Heald, S. W., 230. 
Heath, George W., 221, 232, 235, 

290, 394; William, 461. 
Heaton, Louis B., 392, 418. 
Hellen, Samuel H., 341. 
Hemenway, Francis, 134; George, 

231. 
Hemlock Pond, 326. 
Heuderson, Albert F., 340; John 

H. B., 227, 236. 
Henry Avenue, 306. 
Herbert Street, 162, 181, 191. 
Herdmau, Rev. James C, 176. 
Herrick, Horatio G., 225, 226, 228 ; 

his quota letter, 234. 
Herring House, 32, 48, 131. 
Hesseltine, Francis S., 194, 200, 

256, 258, 268. 27S, 301, 311, 320, 

394, 412; Norman F., 310. 
Hetou, John, 240. 
Heywood, Rev. John H., 178, 359, 

371. 

Hicks, Richard, 160. 

Higgins, A. E., 157; Charles W., 
194, 281, 301, 319; John S., 230, 
235. 

Higginson, Rev. Francis, 6, 77. 

High, Rev. William C, 139. 

Highland Avenue, 92, 125, 126. 

Highland Chapel, 156. 

Highland Club, 166, 180, 436. 

Highlands Baptist Church, History 
of, 164-166, 261 ; affiliated socie- 
ties, 165. 

Highlands Congregational Church, 
33, 91, 423, 442; History of, 155- 
160; its affiliated societies, 159; 
twenty-fifth anniversary, 160. 



Highland Pond, 33, 158. 

Highland Street, 110. 

High Rock, see West Hill. 

Highway Surveyors, 475. 

Hill, Aaron, 272, 275, 276, 3.52, 423; 

Abraham, 429; Charles, 266, 463; 

Isaac, 17, 51, 52; John T., 168; 

Tamzen, 110. 
Hills, J. Clifford, 418; James W., 

418 ; Joseph, 13, 14, 19, 41, 42, 43, 

132, 418; Mary, 132. 

Hill's Tavern, 210, 

Hinckley, L. Frank, 53, 82, 84, 267, 

276, 281, 283, 302, 303, 304, 305, 
410, 411, 414, 416, 418, 451. 

Hinds, John J., 392 ; Rev. Orlando, 
138. 

Hingham, Mass., 80. 

Hocking, Alfred, 257, 258, 262, 288, 
404. 

Hodges, Charles C, 338. 

Hog Island, 52. 

Holbrook, Joseph, 228, 282, 308; 
Joseph M., 392. 

Holden, Clarence P., 273, 316. 

Holland, Rev. F. W., 176; Josiah G., 
359. 

Hollis, Henry P., 240. 

Holmes, Albert D., 182, 257; Edwin 
P., 257; Oliver Wendell, 217; 
Philip B., 223, 235, 278, 285, 448. 

Home Association Lands, 74, 318. 

Hood, Wendell P., 24. 

Hopkins, Lucretia A., 439. 

Horner, Rev. Thomas J., 180, 415, 

416. 
Horn Pond, 8, 30. 
Horsford, Eben, 3. 
Houdlette, Fred A., 160. 
Houghton, Mary C, 342 ; Samuel 

S., 230. 
Hovey, James, 16. 

Howard, Amos, 120, 121; Atalanta 
120; Avery, B., 240; Benjamin 
120 ; Caleb, 161, 163, 231, 264, 265 

277, 284; Cynthia, 120; Ezra, 120 

121, 184, 211, 212, 213; George 
161; Rev. George N., 166, 167 
James, 120, 264; James R., 240 
Jonathan, 30, 52, 53, 54, 119, 120 

122, 216; Joseph, 122, 136; Lu 
cinda, 144; Madeline S., 161 
Mary, 119 ; Nathaniel, 54, 65, 120 
232, 329; vSamuel, 15, 30, US, 119 
W. Truman, 409. 



INDEX. 



495 



Howard Street, 19, 54, 91, 95, 128, 
134, 151, 323, 405, 430, 438, 439, 459. 

Howe, F. Edward, 240, 2(50 ; Fran- 
cis D., 1(39; John, 88; Jonathan, 
88; Sarah D., 200; Sidney 302; W. 
B., 380 

Howes, Jonathan C, 220, 267, 272, 
276, 281, 284, 298, 410, 418, 451; 
Solomon L., 231. 

Howie Court. 93. 

Howie, Daniel, H., 419. 

Howlett's Pond and Brook, 322. 

Hoyt, A. J., 386. 

Hudson, Jarvis P., 228, 230. 

Hudson River, 463. 

Humanitarian Chapel, 165. 

Humphrey, John, 12. 

Humphrey's Pond, 31. 

Hunt, Frank J., 138; Frank \V., 194, 
196, 295, 341. 

Hunter, W. Dabuey. 273, 275, 302, 

303, 306, 315. 
Hurd, Bert A., 419 ; Elizabeth, 63 ; 

Jacob, 63; Joseph A., 414, 419. 
Hurd Street, 47, 54, 55, 128, 405, 410. 
Hurley, John, 231. 
Hutchinson, Thomas, 6. 
Huxford, C. M., 166. 
Hyde, George S., 240. 
Hyde Park, Mass., 297. 

Improvement Societies, 412—414, 
422. 

Incorporation, Act of, 477. 
Indian Deed of Territory, 12. 
Indian Tribes : Massachusetts, 9 ; 

Pawtucket, 9 ; Reference to, 9. 
Ingalls, Rev. John C, 139, 191, 

236, 277 ; Samuel, 240. 

I. O. of G. T., Guiding Star Lodge, 

235, 428. 
Ipsen, Ludwig S., 422. 
Ireson, Alonzo D., 240; David A., 

240 ; Rev. Ebenezer, 139 ; George 

H., 132. 

Irish National Foresters, 444 ; 

Sarah Curran Branch, 444. 
Isburgh, Charles H., 169, 172, 192, 

221, 227, 228, 230, 257, 359; Ida 

F., 341. 

Island End River, 9. 

Island Hill, 52, 54, 63. 72, 406. 

Jack, Ernest S., 316. 



Jackson, Clarissa, 161 ; Jacob F., 
240; Michael, 49; Rev. Samuel, 
140, 141 ; William II., 241 ; Wil- 
liam P., 241. 

James River, 221. 

Jameson, Rev. Thorndike C, 101, 
163. 

Jefferson, Daniel, 230. 

Jeffrey, William, 5. 

Jenkins, Ezekiel, 52, 185, 186; Joel, 

60; Lemuel, 17, 51, 185; Osmore, 

232; Samuel, 52; Nathaniel 188, 

autograph, 189. 
Jeunison, Rev. Isaac, 138. 
Jepson, William A., 163, 339, ;340. 
Jewell, Rev. Henry, 168. 
Johns Hopkins University, 37. 
Johnson, Edward, 13, 376; Henry 

E., 451; Oliver, 379; William, 

18, 41, 70. 

Jones, Asa H., 231 ; Benjamin F., 
169; Caroline, 161; Charles S., 
241 ; Edward A., 382 ; George R., 
152, 1.53, 195, 268, 272, 273, 288, 
289, 298, 305, 315, 32i, 341, 353, 
397, 402, 417, 4.50; Henry A., 
166; Henry H., 241; John R., 
282-284, 295; J. Wesley, 241, 448; 
Nathaniel P., 116, 257, 318, 319, 
412, 413; W. DeHaven, 142,273, 
275, 276, 284, 288, 340, 354, 360, 
475 ; William T., 360. 

Josselyn, Rev. Aaron, 138. 

Judkins, Edwin W., 241 ; Roland 
C, 241. 

Kastner, Charles, 235. 

Keays, William W., 360. 

Keating, John J., 423. 

Keene, N. H., 115; W. S.. 416. 

Keith, Charles E., 226, 231, 

Kellogg, Ensign H., 478; Frank 

G., 150, 152, 153, 340. 
Kelly, Mary Upham, 108. 
Kendall, Edward W., 241. 
Kershaw, William L., 340. 
Kettle, James, 75, 430. 
Keves, Stephen F., 258, 281, 354, 

414, 417. 
Kidder, Frederic, 177, 347, 348, 371 ; 

Jonathan, 86; Mountain, 326. 
Kilbon, Rev. John L., 152. 
Kilby, Rev. Epaphras, 137 ; The- 

ophilus, 241. 

Kilter, John, 216. 



496 



INDEX. 



Kimball, C. M., 258; G. A. & Co., 

385; Thomas J., 169, 230. 
King, George L., 241 ; Rev. T. 

Starr, 191. 
Kiug Phillip's War, (50, 108, 131, 

200 ; AVilliam's 206. 
Kinsale, Irelaud, 88. 
Kirk, Rev. Edward N., 145. 
Kirmes, Christopher, 231 ; Victor 

C, 288, 341. 
Kitching, Edward J., 361. 
Knights, Edward R., 230, 283; 

Harry W., 403. 
Knights of Columbus, 444; of 

Honor, 443; of Malta, 444; of 

Pythias, 445. 

Knower, George, 100. 
Knowles, Theodore L., 221, 226. 
Knox, Henry, 462. 
Krantz, Frederick W., 241 ; Wil- 
liam F , 241. 

Kunhardt, Iv. Henry, 262, 269, 329, 
414. 

Ivafayette, Visit of, 134, 440. 

Lake Avenue, 36, 55, 81, 172, 192, 
303, 352. 

Lambert, Edward, 86. 

Lamkin, Guy, 163, 289, 336, 448. 

Lamson, William A., 232. 

Lancaster, Mass., 104. 

Lane, Addison, 161, 163, 231, 284, 

294, 450; H. M., 192; Job. 457. 
Lang, Charles H., 195, 340, 360,403, 

408; May E., 341. 
Langwood Hotel, 33. 
Langworthy, Rev. Isaac P., 144, 

147. 

Laraviere, Eugene, 418. 

Larrabee, Charles, 230; John, 51, 
106, 196, 200, 257, 258, 261, 263, 
268, 273-276, 283, 284, 288, 289, 
293, 299, 300, 302-306, 311, 314, 
329, 332, 338, 344, 351-354, 360, 
402, 403, 417, 420, 423, 424, 451, 
453; John S., 257, 424. 

Larrabee Street, 74, 318. 

Las Casas, William B. de, 321. 

Laurel Street, 55, 74, 188, 318, 406. 

Lavender, William R., 275, 276, 284. 

Lawrence, Mass., 226, 234, 246. 

Leavitt, Rev. Burke F., 148, 158- 
160, 460 ; Roscoe A., 330; Rufus, 
230. 



Lebanon Street, 16, 31, 44, 47, 49, 
51, 52, 54, 55, 63, 73, 121, 134, 136, 
141, 142, 160, 168, 188, 189, 193, 
194, 200, 318, 331, 343, 406, 407, 
451, 475. 

Leeds, Samuel, 241. 

Leicester, Mass., 374. 

Leighton, Leonard S., 336-339; 
Robert F., 372; Roval B., 336, 
340; William F., 241.' 

Leisk, John A., 418. 

Leonard, Henry A., 230, 246, 273, 
283; Rev. Joel M., 140, 148; Wil- 
liam A., 340. 

Lester, M. W., 339. 
Lever, Richard, 241. 
Lewis, Alonzo, 78; Samuel, 60. 
Lewiston, Maine, 167, 388. 
Lexington alarm, 210-214, 419. 
Lexington, Mass.. 34, 72. 76, 86, 87, 
90, 129, 210, 212-214, 326, 459, 460. 

Libby, Horatio S., 257, 424. 

Liberal Christian Union Church, 
172, 180. 

Lincoln, Abraham. 217-224, 227- 

229, 245, 373, 447, 448, 452 ; George 
H., 167. 

Lincoln Street, 101. 
Linden Place, 173 ; Street, 55, 323. 
Linniken, Benjamin, 282. 
Linwood Avenue, 44, 55, 335, 410. 
Little, Edmund B., 231. 

Littlefield, Cushing W., 241; Homer 
S., 70 ; James D., 169 ; Walter, 73, 

230, 289, 318, 329, 412; Walter F., 
362. 

Livermore, Daniel P., 349, 374; 
Mary A., 172, 178, 251-253, 256, 
349, 359, 360, 372, 420, 424, 439- 
441, 452, 453. 

Locke, Calvin, 438; Rev. E. H., 
168; Simeon, 230. 

Lockrow, Rev. David M., 163, 165. 
Lockwood, Thomas D., 163, 375. 
London, 1, 2, 8, 13, 93, 108, 371. 
Long Poud, 18, 31, 32, 48-10, 131. 
Long, Thomas A., 229, 230 ; John D. , 

262, 436; Mrs. J. H., 365. 
Loring, Charles F., 289, 461 ; Martin 

B., 231. 
Lothrop, Cummings L., 172. 
Louisburg, Siege of, 206. 
Louisburg Square, 44. 



INDEX. 



491 



Louisville, Ky., 178, '.\1\. 
Lovejoy, Bertram E., 339, 340; Louis 
E., 195; Mary E., 340; Stephen 
A., 15L 294, 403. 
Levering, Lewis H., 416. 
Lowell, Mass., 165. 
Loyal Legion of Massachusetts, 200. 
L [Kll] Pond, 16, 19, 20, 29-31, 
33, •^^, 41, 42, 44, 50, 53, 78, 79, 81. 
82, 84, 91,92, 94, 118-120, 137, 296, 
;307, 308, 312, 321-323, 385, 400, 
409, 423. 
L Pond Brook, 35, 53, 120, 137, 191, 

307, 308, 311-313. 
Luce, Alonzo A., 451; Francis P., 

142, 340. 
Lucey, Daniel J., 353. 
Luddington, William, 100. 
Lyall, David S., 241. 
Lyceum Hall, 143, 147, 162, 172, 
191, 221, 236, 264, 265, 291, 346, 
399, 404, 431. 
Lyman, Henry H., 241. 
Lynch, Peter J., 354. 
Lyude, Alonzo V., 230, 295, 298; 
Amos P., 153, 475; A. Selwyn, 
450; A. Wilbur, 73, 110, 241, 274, 
275, 390, 392, 419, 475; Benjamin, 
51, 72, 73, 211-213, 241 ; Charles 
B., 241 ; Charles P., 231; D. Al- 
vin, 47, 63, 231, 266; Elizabeth, 
63; Frank G., 74; Frank W., 
418; Hannah, 35, 348; Henry, 47, 
51, 63, 71, 75, 207; George, 169, 
231; George W., 241 ; Jabez, 62, 
74-77, 211-213; James O., 232; 
John, 44, 52, 54, 61, 63, 65, 
71-75, 82, 83, 185, 188, 207; Jona- 
than, 74 ; Joseph, 17, 45, 51, 53, 61- 
66, 70-73, 75, 76, 105, 106, 120, 
122, 211-213, 331, 464, 465, 476; 
Learned, 455 ; Leonard, 231 ; Lou- 
ise, 73 ; Mary, 73, 200 ; Nathan, 66, 
211, 216, 465 ; Rebecca, 59, 66, 475 ; 
Sherman, 241 ; Stephen, 77 ; 
Thomas, 16, 29, 41-43, 45-47, 51, 
53 58-63, 70, 71, 74-76, 92, 418; 
Warren, 71, 72, 291 ; William, 169; 
William O., 230. 
Lyndeboro Mountains, 326. 
Lynde's Point, 58. 
Lynde Street, 44, 47, 51, 54, 117, 

191, 319, 323. 
Lynnfield, Mass., 14::!, 181. 
Lynn, Mass., 5, 9, 24, 54, 78, 95, 98, 

116, 122, 327, 406, 459, 466. 
Lynn Water Works, 24. 



Lynn Woods Reservation, 24. 321 . 
322, 327. 

MacCafferty, Michael A., 223. 
MacDon.ild, Angus, 154, 160, 242. 
Macev, James, 241; John S., 241 ; 

William H., 241. 
Macfarland. Rev. Charles S., 142, 

336, 338, 339. 
Maclachlau, Andrew L., 451. 
Macomber, George, 230. 
Madison Street, Maiden. 45. 
Magoon, Sylvanus, 228. 
Magus, Pomp, 215. 
Mahoney, John J., 476. 
Main Street [Reading Road], 19, 
30, 31, 36, 44, 45, 47, 51. 52, 54, 55, 
60, 61, 63, 65, 69, 75, 84, 94, 97. 
114, 115, 120-122, 125, 134, 137- 
139, 141, 143, 147, 151, 160, 162. 
164, 107, 172, 176, 181, 187, 191, 
194 195, 197, 207, 257, 264, 291, 
319 323, 328, 329, 331, 336-338, 
349, 386, 388, 389, 391, 392, 394, 
397, 402-407, 409, 410, 431 , 432, 434 
435, 441, 450. 451, 465, 476 
Maine, 1, 3, 56, 134, 136, 442. 
Maine, James H., 392. 
Maker, John C, 180, 192, 194, 196, 

200, 272. 
Maiden River, see North River. 
Maiden Water Reservoir, 67. 
Maiden, Mass, 1, 4, 5, 9-26, 28, 30. 
31, 33, 35,39, 40-42, 44, 45, 47-49, 
51-57, 60, 63-05, 67, 70. 72, 73, 75- 
78 82 83,85-91, 93-104, 106, 108, 
lib. 111, 114, 120, 122-124, 178, 
180, 181, 188, 191, 193, 200, 206, 
211 213, 216, 246, 286, 290. 
29l' 293. 294-301, 307-315. 324- 
326 328, 367, 381, 385, 388, 389, 
400 401, 404-407, 416, 429, 430, 
433, 441, 457, 459, 462-464, 466, 
477I479; Baptist Church, 125; 
Beacon, 461 ; Hi-Centennial Cele- 
bration, 144, 2u8 ; 250th Anni- 
versary. 417-422. 
Maiden & Melrose Gas Light Co., 

407. 
Maiden's Patriotism, 208-210. 
Maldon, England, 14. 
Maloney, Bartley, 275. 
Manila, Battle of, 250, 252, 436. 
Mauley, Hattie A., 198, 
Manning, George A , 152, 340; Mary 
S., 144 ; Warren II., 327. 



498 



INDEX. 



Mansfield, George A., 192, 103, 230, 
281, 310, 402 ; Rev. J. H., 141. 

Maple vStreet, 27, 82, 105, 106, 128, 
207, 410, 4(33. 

Maplewood, Maiden, 52, li2, 100, 
406. 

March, Rev. Daniel, 151. 

Marcy, J T., 231. 

Marden, Emma Nichols, 236. 

Marsh, Edward B., 272, 275 ; George 
P., 262, 419; Herbert A., 288. 

Marshall, Edwin B., 164; James, 
241, 275, 475; John, 210; John E., 
163, 257, 258, 262, 272, 275, 415, 
424; Samuel, 241; Thomas, 41, 44. 

Martha's Vineyard, 2, 3. 

Martin, Charles H., 241 ; George T., 
241; Jeremiah. 84, 107. 230, 241, 
264, 265, 278, 280, 291, 294 ; Walter 
C, 363; William H.. 241. 

Mason, William W., 160, 338, 340. 

Masonic Hall, 47, 52, 53, 122, 134, 
181, 392,433, 450. 

Massachusetts Bay, 1, 2 3; grant 
of 1628, 4 ; grant to Oldham and 
Dorrell, 5; charter to Governor 
and Company of, 5, 6, 8, 102, 123. 

Massachusetts Colony, law of, 39. 

Massachusetts Home Missionary 
Society, 145, 157 

Massey, Mrs. John, 139. 
Mather, Rev. Cotton, 127, 376. 
Matthews, Rev. Marmaduke, 91 ; 

Robert W., 339. 
Maverick, Samuel, 5, 10. 
May, Samuel J., 379. 
McAllister, Daniel W., 242 ; George 

H., 242. 
McCarthy, William C, 342. 
McCartney, William, 148. 
McClellan, George B., 221. 
McClure, Rev. Alexander W., 208, 

367. 

McCoubry, Thomas, 409; William 
J., 134. 

McCullough, John J., 269, 353. 
Mclutire, John, 150, 398. 
Mclntyre, James, 403 ; James W., 

385; Joseph, 231. 
McKay, Gurdou, 242. 
McKinley, William, 246, 362-365, 

376, 404, 453. 

McKinuf)n, Charles E., 392. 



McLaughlin, Frank M., 242, 274, 
275, 392, 418; George W., 242; 
Hiram, 242. 

McLean, John A., 166. 

McLeish, Rev. John, 456. 

McMann, Philip, 242, 390. 

McNish, Wickham C, 230. 

M'Coy, George M., 163. 

Medford, Mass., 4, 5, 9, 10, 24, 28, 
33, 47, 56, 70, 143, 157, 180, 206, 
286, 290, 291, 293, 294, 297-301, 
307, 324, 325, 407, 416, 466, 476; 
Mystic Church, 157. 

Mellen, William H., 398, 418. 

Melrose, incorporated, 23; part of 
Stoneham annexed, 23; votes to 
become a city, 271 ; act of in- 
corporation, 271 ; charter, 269- 
271; Abbey, 37, 38, 175, 181, 437; 
Academy, 147; Athletic Club, 434; 
Cadet Band, 423 ; Club, 121, 2r.O, 
361, 435 ; Co-operative Bank, 403 ; 
Hospital Association, 120, 341- 
345; Guild, 341, 342; Sunday, 
342; Nurse's Home, 344; Improve- 
ment Society, 397, 412, 413 ; High- 
lands, 414; Lyceum, 177,359-361; 
Musical Associations, 361 ; Bands, 
365; Choral Societies, 361-365, 
454 ; Melrose National Bank, 338, 
403 ; Newspapers : Enterprise, 
387 ; Free Press, 387 ; Journal, 26, 
385; Reporter, 386; Pratt Farm, 
333; Public Library, 36, 37, 65, 
70, 338 ; history of, 346-354 ; ad- 
visory committee, 354, 355, 358, 
372, 383, 397; Savings Bank, 397, 
402, 416 ; Shakespeare Club, 356 ; 
Street, 55, 155, 303; Woman's 
Club, 356 ; Highlands Club, 356 ; 
Melroser Deutsche Genossen- 
schaft, 439. 

Menawarmet Club, 439 

Mendum, Ernest W., 286, 414; 

Josiah P., 224, 230. 
Merrick, Thomas B., 282. 
Merrill, Rev. Abraham D., 139; 

Frank H, 258; Greeley, 456; 

John M., 139; Parker. 284, 294. 
Merrimack River, ^^, 70, 71. 
Merritt, Rev. Timothy, 136, 137, 

139. 
Merry Mount, 5. 
Messenger, Charles A., 123, 126, 

231, 403; Frank A., 126, 221, 223, 

230, 412, 437 ; Winthrop, 268. 
Metcalf, Rev. Henry A., 173; L. S., 

385 ; Richard, 177. 



INDEX. 



4'J«J 



Methodist Episcopal Church, First, 
115, 120. 143, 155, IGO, :;28, 888, 
389, 423 ; subscription lists, 130, 
137; War contribution, 230. 

Metropolitan Park SystL-ni, 24-20, 
321, 322, 324, 320; Sewerage Sys- 
tem, ;]01-;^03, 300, 314; Water 
System, 28, 34, 290-292, 29()-298 ; 
Water and Sewerage combined, 
299-301,313, 315, 324-;320. 

Mexico, war with, 21(). 

Middlesex Countv, 23, TO, 85, 87, 
91, 102, 308, 32'5, 477, 478, 481; 
Fells Reservation, 24, 20, 28, 30, 
51, 07, 290, 321, :J22 ; history of, 
324-327 ; Fells Springs Co., 290. 

Milford, Mass., 401. 

Miller, Ida Farr, 440; William 11., 
295. 

Mills, Rev. A. W., 140. 

Military affairs : Boston Artillery 
Company, 80; Crown Point ex- 
pedition, 75, Maiden Company 
of Foot, 00, 75, 82, 80, 93; Mas- 
sachusetts Militia, 107 ; Point 
Shirlej' Expedition, 70. 

Milton, Mass., 25. 

Miner, Rev. Alonzo A., 109, 171. 

Mishawum [Charlestown], 5, 77. 

Mitchell, F. C, 418; George, 242; 
Thomas, 414; William H., 451. 

Moderators, 277-280. 

Montgomery, Ala., 217. 

Moore, Edward, 231; Eugene H., 
105, 209, 272, 274, 281, 298, 305, 
313, 315, 415 

Moorehouse, S. Woodbridge, 365. 

Moorelands, the, 105. 

Morehouse, Rev. D. Allen, 157, 423. 

Morris, Minn., 455. 

Morrison, Charles H., 242 ; Seth, 
242. 

Morrow, Ebenezer, 200. 

Morse, Andrew J., 235, 301 ; Fred 
H., 451; George J., 242; George 
L., 151, 194. 257, 208. 289, 295, 
301, 304, 305, 341; George M., 
109; Sydney B., 242; William, 
227; William F., 226, 230. 

Morss, William, 275, 283. 

Morton, Thomas, 5, 7; Daniel O., 
231; Roland R., 419. 

Moseley, Samuel, 200. 

Mountain Avenue, 49. 

Mountain Avenue, Maiden, 307, 
309. 



Mountain House, i-'T, 51, 100, 107 

123, 410, 403. 
Mount Ephraim, 68. 
Mount Gregor, N. Y., 255, 452. 
Mount Hood, 20, 24, 20, 28. 
Mount Joe English, 320. 
Mount Kearsarge, 32G. 
Mount Monaduock, 25, 320. 
Mount Pelee, 289. 

Mount Prospect, see W'ayte's 
Mount. 

M^unt Vernon Place, 05; Street, 
47, 55, 400, 450, 451. 

Mount Wachusett, 25, 320. 

Mount Zion, 29. 

Mower, George W., 107. 

Mudge, Rev. James, 139; John, 430. 

Munroe, Dexter F., 180, 358; 

George E., 180, 348. 349; Lewis 

S., 164; Oliver B., 276, 352 ; Rev. 

William H., 172, 173, 330. 
Murray, James W., 160. 273, 275, 

270, 284, 445; Patrick P., 392; 

William H. H., 177 
Murphy, James P., 183; Walter, 232. 
Muse, James, 418. 
Mussey, Benjamin B., 191. 
Munn, Lawrence K., 231 ; Thomas 

J., ^242, 257. 
Munyan, Edward M., 275, 349. 
Mj'ers, James J., 415, 441. 
Myrtle Street, 54, 147, 177, 181, 182, 

193, 303, 3()(), 343, 344. 
Mystic Church, Medford, 157; 

Pond, 8, 30; River, 1, 4-0. 9, 11, 

13, 33, 57, 77-79, 81, 87, 215, 

298, 325. 

Mystic Side, [Mvstic Field, Mai- 
den] 10, 13, 14,' 42, 57, 59, 00, 79, 

81, 91, 99, 101. 

Nahant, Mass., 3, 24, 98, 297, 359. 
Nanepasheniet, 4; killed, 9, 
Nantaskct, Mass., 5. 
Nantucket, Mass., 3. 
Narragansett Bay, 3. 
Narragansett Fort, battle of, lU'.i, 
200. 

Nash, Gilbert, 375. 
Nashua River, 298. 
Naumkeag, [Salem] 5,0. 
Nelson's Hill, Everett, 190. 
Neponset, Mass., 5. 
Nevius, Edward P., 152, 282. 



500 



INDEX. 



Newberry, Tryal, 18, 101. 

Newbury, Mass., 455. 

Newburyport, Mass., 368, 378. 

New England, 2-5, 7, 12-14, 32, 34, 
59, 62, 63, 66, 81, 85, 99, 101, 104, 
123, 129, 130, 134, 197, 267. 377, 400, 
421 ; characteristics, 129-131 ; 
Order of Protection, 445. 

Newe Towue, [Cambridge] 10. 

Newfoundland, 4. 

Newhall, Charles E., 451; Edward 
B.,228, 231; George, 192,200,230, 
280, 284, 293, 329, 332, 385, 394, 400, 
451, 452; Henry B., 223, 231; J. 
Walter, 163; Thomas, 17, 18, 96; 
Newhall's Block, 397, 402; Wil- 
liam, 409. 

New Hampshire, 42, 220, 422. 

New Ipswich, N. H., 371, 372. 

Newport, R. I., 291. 

Newton, Mass., 297, 326. 

New York City, 172, 236, 352, 365. 

Nichols, Addie A., 348; Adeline A., 

189 ; George G., 242 ; James, 105 ; 

Smith W., 106. 242; Thomas, 85 

86. 

Nickerson, Rev. A. S., 177; FredH., 
193; Walter I., 286, 402, 403. 

Noddle's Island, [East Boston! 3 
5. 

Norman, George H., 291. 

Norris, Henry A., 169, 222, 223, 230 
264, 277, 285, 460 ; John Oscar, 178^ 
180, 192-195, ,329, 341, 450, 4-54; 
Rev. Samuel, 138, 142; Sarah F.' 
385; Rev. Thomas F., 138, 160; 
Trueworthy, 338. 

Norrisville, 36, 460. 

North Carolina, 3. 

North Cliarlestown, Mass., 10. 

North Kud, North Maiden [Mel- 
rose], 14, 20, 47, 49, .54, 388, 400 
401 

North [Maiden] River, 1, 5, 10 35 
42,81. ' ' 

Northmen, The, 3. 

Northrop, Rev. Isaac H., 147. 

North School District, 191, 200. 

Norton, Daniel, 192, 193, 224, 229 

230, 281 ; Harry R., 392 ; John R ' 

283, 285, 286; Ransom, J., 161. 
Norumbega, 3. 
Nowell, Increase, 11, 12, 33 ; Joshua 

T., 268, 820, 475; Samuel H. 84, 

137. 



Noyes, Charles J., .375, 453 ; George 
N., 230, 336, 3.59 ; George O., 242 • 
Moses A., 231. 



Oak Grove [Maiden], 26. 
Oakland Street, 343. 
Oaks, Thomas, 185. 
O'Callaghan, Rev. Dennis, 181. 
Odd Fellows' Hall, 434. 
Odd Ladies, 443. 

Odiorne, Ebenezer, 81 ; George, 81 ; 

Thomas, 81. 
Odiorne's Mill, 81, 307. 
Odlin, Charles C, 441, 451; James 

E., 441. 

O'Farrell, Rev. D. J., 181, 452. 

Old Corn, or Samp Mill, 69. 

Old Customs, 463. 

Old Families and Homesteads, 58- 
135 

Oldham, John, 5. 

Old Home Week, 263, 422-24. 

"Old Ironsides," 419. 

Old Pepe's Cove, 28, 33, 35. 

"Old South," 462. 

Old Time church going, 183, 184. 

Old 1653 Road, see Lebanon street. 

Olin, William M., 415. 

One Hundredth Anniversary, 416. 

Orange, Mass., 172. 

Orchestras: Dow's, 365, 423; Mel- 
rose, 261 ; Orchestral Association, 
365 ; Tripp's, 365 ; Moorhouse's 
Y. M. C. A., 252, 365. 

Orcutt, Frank E., 194, 258, 286-288; 
Louie H., 256. 

Orris [Green Lane] Street, 97, 128. 

Ormsby, Charles H., 405. 

Orthodox Congregational Church, 
160, 172, 265, 362, ,398, 399, 423, 
425, 452 ; affiliated societies, 1.52 ; 
anniversaries, 151 ; its history, 
142-155; society incorporated, 150; 
war contribution, 235. 

Osborn, Francis A., 200. 
Osgood, Daniel, 192 ; John, 44. 
Otis Street, 55, 82, 106. 
Otter River, Eug., 108. 
Overseers of the Poor, 273, 275, 276, 
475. 

Packard, Rev. Isaac H., 140. 



INDEX. 



oOl 



Page, Edward S., 27(), ;552 ; Han id 
E., ;541, 4-20 ; Jesse W., HK] ; Moses 
S , lo2, I'.fJ, 19:^, 190, 22(}, 242, 202, 
275, 270, L104, 305, 338, 340-342, 
402, 410, 423, 454. 

Paine, Johu T., 277, 289; William, 
101. 

Palfrey, Peter, 5. 

Palmer, Abraham, 11 ; Charles E., 

424; Frank T., 257, 202, 424; 

George, 419. 

Park Commissioners, 318, 319, ;;21- 
323, 413. 

Parks: Barry, 319; Base Ball, 321 
Columbus, 28; the Common, 74 
318, 323, 413 ; Ell Pond, 321, 323 
Fordell, 28; Pine Banks, 25, 45 
47, 49, 52, 03, 07, 08, 331, 339 
Russell, 75; Sewall Woods, 23, 
28, 289, 319-321, 323,408. 

Parker, Albon W., 283, 451 ; Jacob, 
17, 124; Moses, 150, 152,221,223; 
Rev. Samuel P., 173. 

Parker Place, 110, 117, 400. 

Patch, Charles A., 257, 274, 348, 
349. 

Patterson, Alonzo, 228, 231. 
Paul, Wesley, 410; William F., 103, 
228. 

Peabody, Rev. Andrew P., 177, 178 ; 

Torrey, 242. 
Pearce, Thomas, 42. 
Pearson, Henry R., 355. 
Peck, Rev. James J., 103; Oren H., 

227, 230, 285; Thomas B., 177, 

348, 359, 370. 
Peirson, Rev. George, 102. 
Pemberton, John, 430; Lewis E., 

242. 
Penny Ferry, 57, 214. 
Penobscot River, 3. 
Perkins, Albert P., 230; Benjamin, 

105; Daniel A., 23, 479, 481; Hora- 
tio N., 127, 128, 175, 230, 350; 

James F., 242; Johu, 228, 242; 

Rev. John W., 139; Joseph, 70. 
Perkins Street, 319, 323. 
Perley, Roscoe D., 340. 
Perr^', Anna J., 411 ; George V., 

4(>9, Herbert J., 414, 410. 
Philadelphia, Pa., 173, 230. 
I'liilbrick, A. J., 337. 
Philippines, the, 247, 248. 
Phillips, George William, 293, 309, 

310; John, 207; Walter R., 3S0 ; 

Weudall, 359; Willard, 3S0. 



Philpot, Robert, 451. 
Phinney, Erastus ()., 282, 284, 285, 
317 ; Stephen J., 2S4. 

Phippen, German vS., 278, 282, 285 
308, 329, 331. 

Pickles, Rev. John D., 140, 423. 

Pierce, Ansel B., 231,284; Cynthia, 
101; Frank N., 392; Robert W., 
231 ; S. A , 100; Rev. Tliomas C, 
137; William, 101, 285.-109; Wil- 
liam L., 231, 207, 392; William 
P., 336, 338. 

Pike, Jacob F., 242. 

Pilling, James L., 243. 

Pine Banks Golf Club, 09 

Pine Hill, 24, 29, 105, 320, 327, 438, 
439. 

Pineo, Allstou H., 392. 

Pitman, David B., 303. 

Pleasant Street, Maiden, 120, 180, 
420. 

Plymouth, Mass., 2, 4, 371. 

Point Shirley expedition, 90, 213, 
214. 

Poland, Charles H., 355; William 
C, 355. 

Police Department, 392, 393 ; As- 
sociation, 393. 

Pollard, John, 401. 

Pollock, George W., 231 

Poison, Thomas, 193. 

Pond Feiloe [Melrose], 31, 38, 79, 
81, 400, 401. 

Poole, Jonathan, 02; Joatham, 47 ; 
William F., 231, 235, 33(i, 359, :17(), 
377, 449. 

Poor Farm [Pratt], 49, .M, 121, 409. 

Poor, Samuel, 80. 

Pope, John, 234. 

Poplar Street, 55. 

Porter, Charles, 105, 134; Jonathan, 

215 ; Lucius L. D., 220. 
Porter Street, 19, 32, 49. 54. 98. 102. 

105, 112, 110, 119, 134, 212, 343. 

400, 407, 438, 451. 
Portland, Maine, 127, 15S. 172. 230. 
Porto Rico, 247, 248. 
Portsmouth, N. IL, 307. 
Post Offices, VJ.\, 204, 404, 405. 
Potter, Samuel G., 380, 387. 
Powder Horn Hill, 9,77. 
Pranker's Pond, W'l I . 



502 



INDEX. 



Pratt, Abigail S.,93; Charles, 54, 
121, 122, 131, 134, 141, 142, 168, 
331-333; Daniel S., 243 ; Dexter, 
166, 193. 231, 283; Henry, 93; 
Henry W., 243 ; Jacob, 45 ; John, 
105, 117, 122, 134, 168, 169, 211- 
213; Mary, 105; Mary R., 144; 
Mary W., 439; Mercy, 188; Sam- 
uel, 93 ; Rev. Stillman, 143-145, 
147, 150; Thomas, 53, 457; Wil- 
liam, 93; William L., 451. 

Pratt Memorial Chapel, 142. 

Pratt Street, 92. 

Preble, Frank F., 320, 321 ; Samuel 
S., Jr., 176, 453. 

Precincts and Wards, 447. 

Prentice, Charles, 243; Rev. George, 
140, 449. 

Prentis, Thomas T., 289. 

Prescott, Horace, 243. 

Prince, Albert G., 243. 

Pring, Martin, 2, 3, 4. 

Prior, C. Edward, 347. 

Protestant Methodist Church, 139, 
147, 160-162, 265, 455, 456. 

Provaudie, Paul H., 273, 275, 316. 

Providence, R. I., 369. 

Provincetown, 248, 383. 

Purditt, Samuel, 206. 

Pynchou, John, 108, 109. 

Queen Anne, 63, 96. 

Quimby, A. A., 365; D. C, 191; 

Rev. George W., 170. 
Quincy, Mass., 5, 263, 297. 
Quinu, John E., 243; John H., 243 ; 

Patrick, 243. 

Railroads : Boston Elevated Rail- 
way Co., 406; Boston & Maine, 
20, 36, 54, 63, 81, 91, 125, 142, 143, 
176, 180, 191, 309, 325, 404 ; Boston 
«& Northern Street Railwa)' Co., 
36, 406; Eastern, 99; East Mid- 
dlesex, 405, 406; East Side, 406; 
Lowell, 325; Lynn & Boston, 
406 ; Maiden & Melrose Horse 
Railroad, 36; Street Railroads, 
405-407; Stonehani, 405; Wake- 
field Railway Company, 30. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 3. 

Ramsdell, John, 216 

Ramsey, Alric, 418. 

Rand, Redford M., 392. 

Randall, Lucy, 161 ; J. Lyman, 360. 

Rankin, F. W. A., Jr., 10:5, 226, 230. 

Ranlet, Samuel A., 359. 



Rattlesnake Hill, 438. 

Ravine Road, 296, 324. 

Rawson, Edward, 207. 

Ray, George M., 385; M. L., 282. 

Reading Hill, 44, 134. 

Reading, Mass., 10, 14-16, 19, 29, 

40-44, 48, 60, 62, 69, 70, 82, 85, 94, 

98, 99, 131-134, 143, 151, 466. 
Reading Road [Main Street], 19, 

47-49, 52, 75, 93, 94, 138. 
Recruiting Committee, Revolution, 

462, 463. 
Red Mills, 27, 390. 
Reed, Charles F., 419. 
Reedy Pond, 17, 51. 
Registrars of Voters, 288. 
Remick, Joseph, 403; Stuart B., 

414. 

Reservoir Hill, 24. 

Revere, Mass., 25, 103, 297. 

Revere, Paul, 419, 462. 

Revolutionary War : 25, 84, 86, 88, 
90, 105, 118, 131, 133, 206; battle of 
Bunker Hill, 32, 87, 118, 133, 215; 
of White Plains, 118; Beacham's 
Point Post, 214; Company rolls, 
211-214 ; Incidents, 459-461 ; Mai- 
den's patriotic instructions, 208- 
210; Point Shirley expedition, 90, 
213-215; Rhode Island expedi- 
tion, 90, 213, 214. 

Reynolds George, W., 386. 

Rhode Island, 133, 432. 

Rice, Samuel, 172, 175; Rev. Wil- 
liam, 139. 

Richardson, George E.,243; Hiram 
D., 231 ; Israel, 127 ; John P., 243 ; 
Lewis H., 226, 231; William H., 
243, 424; Winthrop, 125, 126,437, 
438. 

Richards, Rev. Daniel, 139. 

Richmond, Rev. John B., 173. 

Richmond, Va., 221. 

Rich, Seth, 144, 150, 152. 

Riley, James W., 275, 294. 

Rink, John J., 340. 

Ripley, Augustus, 228 ; Caroline M., 
191; Thomas W., 193, 194, 360, 
475. 

Ritchie, Rev. Robert, 173. 

Roach, Benjamin, 231. 

Robbins, Charles, 226. 

Roberts, Charles H., 243 ; Ernest 
W., 262, 420; Oliver A., 195, 19(), 
198, 378; Walter II., 403, 408. 



INDEX. 



:.(>:{ 



Robertson, Henry A., 418. 

Robinson, Addie K.,;>82; Ikiijainin 
l'\, 10:5, I'JC. ; Carl, 411); Oeor},'e 
D.,24ti; Henry, 2:51, 282; Henry 
J., 282; John G., 2t52, 272, 27:;, 
27(3, :}14, ;)r).j, 423, 44<); Joseph H., 
275, 810; Thomas, 94; Samuel A., 
228. 

Robson. John W., 198, 281, 801,820, 
403; Louis E. K., 858, 8.'>St. 

Rocks anil Minerals, 469. 

Roilgers, Fred H., 418 

Rodman, William A., 318, 418. 

Rogers' Hall, 1(54, 180; Block, 405. 

Roundabout Club, 178, 358, 859. 

Rowe, Ai, 282. 

Rowell, Stephen P., 248. 

Roxbury, Mass., 5(5. 

Royal Arcanum, 448. 

Royal, Isaac, 458, 459. 

Rumuey Marsh, 11. 

Russell Club, 172. 

Russell, Daniel, 75, 171, 221, 283, 
257, 280, 281, 287, 288, 298, 829, 
332, 841, 847, 894, 897, 899, 402, 
411, 412. 

Russell Street, 74, 94. 

Ryder, Frauk J., 418; Thomas J., 
451. 

Saddleback Hill, 83, 35. 

Safford, George A., 412. 

Sagamore, George, 9; James, 9; 
John, 9, 40, 77 

Saiutouge, Jean Allfonsce de, 3. 

Salem, Mass., 5, (3, 8, 9, 77-79, 116. 
117, 172, 376. 

Salem Road, or Path, 45, 52, 78, 215 

Salem Street, Maiden, 103, 190, 406. 

Salisbury, Mass., 378. 

Sanborn, John E-, 816. 

San ford Street, 107. 

San Francisco, Cal., 144, 442, 456. 

Sargent, Rev. Aaron, 141 ; Albert 
T., 809; Amos, 189 ; Ezra, 76, 123, 
208 ; George, 281 ; George B., 281 ; 
George C, 280; John, 19; Win- 
gate P., 152, 192, 229. 230, 280, 
289, 291, 294, 295, 809, 836, 402, 449. 

Sargent Street, 93, 193. 

Sassard, Augustus, 248. 

Saugus, Mass., 5, 28, 24, 48, 54, 78, 
91, 116, 117, 120, 185, 148, 151, 226, 
822, 405, 416, 460, 476. 

Saugus River, see Abousett River. 

Saunders, Abuer M., 165, 166. 



Savage, Jameb, 77, Rev. Minot J.. 

178, 368. 
Savery, Elizabeth, 174. 
Sawver, Henrv W., 841 ; Nellie R.. 

842; Roswell W., 41U. 

Scadan [District], 20, 25; Fells, 51, 

52, 70, 78. 
Schaedel, Charles G., 408. 
Schenectady, N. Y., 875. 
Schooff, W. F., 405. 

Schools and School Houses : Com- 
mittees, 202-205 ; Converse, I«>4, 
198, 201 ; 1). W. Gooch, 192, 201, 
828 ; Education Society, 857 ; 
l-ranklin, 195 ; Franklin Street, 
155, 201 ; High, 120, 192. 194-199, 
201, 202, 261, 880, 855, 387, 428, 
440, 458, 454 ; High School Alum- 
ni, 198, 199, 440; Horace Mann. 
198, 194, 201 ; Kindergarten, 'JOl ; 
Lincoln, 197,201 ; Mary A. Liver- 
more, 194, 201 ; Ripley, 198, 201 ; 
Sewall, 120. 191, 201; Superin- 
tendents first employed, 198 ; 
Warren 194, 201 ; Washington, 
196, 201 ; Whittier, 198, 201 ; 
Winthrop, 194, 201 ; Town grant. 
266. 

School Street, 101. 

Scituate, Mass., 5. 

Sconeld, Rev. C. I., 160. 

ScoUay Sijuare, Boston, 407. 

Scots Charitable Society, 87. 

Scoville, Rev. Augustus E., 1()8. 200. 

Sears, Elisha F., 280. 

Seaver, Rev. Nathaniel, Jr., 178, 859. 

Seavey, Leonard C, 243. 

Selectmen, List of, 280, 281. 

Selee, Rev. Nathan P., 281. 

Serratt, William D., 413. 

Sessions, Rev. Alexander J., 147. 

Severance, Sargent F., 280. 

Severy, G. S., 088; Solomon, 281. 
425 

Sewall. John S., 228. 280; Joseph. 
880; Lucy F)., 8i9; vSamuel K . 
28, 280, 28'5, 257, 260, 288, 290, :'.I9. 
820, 849. 879, 898, 401, 412, 41;:; 
Stinson, :i88. 

Sewall Woods Road, 819, 820 
Sewer Commissioners, 802, 808. 
Seymour, Rev. Charles IL, 176. 
Shannon, Martin. 248. 
Shaw, I'lorcntinc S., 160. 
Shawmut [Boston], 5, 17. 



504 



INDEX. 



Shelton, Albert F., 226,243; Charles 
W., 243; Eliza J., 161; John, 36, 
82, 230; John Parker, 243; Rich- 
ard H., 226; Stephen, 225, 230, 
282, 285; Stephen A., 336; Stephen 
W., 224, 226-228; Thomas, 221, 
243. 

Shepard, Charles H., 283; Chester, 
272, 299, 321, 354 ; Rev. James, 139. 

Shepard Manufacturing Co., 33, 158. 

Sherburne, Edgar E., 392; Elmer 
D., 365. 

Sherman, William F., 295. 

Shilly Shally Brook, 27, 35, 307, 308. 

Shiner Pond, 326. 

Short, Rev. Charles L., 173, 175, 
176, 452. 

Shumway, F'ranklin P., 153. 252, 
336, 338, 340, 363, 411, 413, 454. 

Shute, Charles N., 275, 276, 299; 
John, 83. 

Sidewalks, first built, 55. 

Sil.sbee, Rev. William, 176. 

Simonds Joseph F., 243; Joseph R., 
243, 277, 282. 295, 360 ; Joseph W., 
243. 

Simons, Alexander, T , 176. 

Simpson, William F., 392. 

Sims, Rev. Thomas, 148. 151, 163, 
172, 252, 453. 

Singer, John, 125, 390, 405, 475. 

Sinking Fund Commissioners, 2b6, 
287. 

Sixth Street, 74, 318, 406. 

Skinner, Abraham, 188 ; Rev. 
Charles A., 171, 172 ; Charles E., 
243; Rev. Henry B., 139; Rev. 
Otis A., 169; Sarah, 95; Thomas, 
429. 

Slaves and Slavery, 457-459: Betsey, 
459 ; Brahma, Bucknam, 458 ; 
Cato Lynde, 457 ; Deed of Pidge, 
85; Dinah, 65, 66; George, 459; 
Hagar, 459 ; Harn, 00; Indenture 
to Joseph Barrett, 104; Israel, 
103, 104; Mira, 459 ; Nancy, 459 ; 
Negroes bought, 98 ; Peter, 60 ; 
Phyllis Willis, 458; Pomp, 86, 
459 ; Samson, 75 ; Simon, 457 ; 
Stephen, 459; Violet Hills, 458; 
Zachary, 74. 

Slocomb, Elvin C, 392; Henry W., 

243. 
Slocum, Asa, 284. 
Small, Albert E., 198; Edward A., 

243; Edwin S., 47, 209, 272, 275, 

353, 354, 414-416, 423.449; James, 

231 ; John M., 151, 153. 



Smith, Albert M., 105; Brothers, 
383; Carl B., 163; Francis, 42-44, 
Francis A., 419; Fred W., 419 ; 
George A., 397; George E., 415; 
Jerome T., 392; John, 1, 18, 41, 
44, 88, 89, 231, 284; Rufus, 192, 
221, 223, 227, 228, 230, 289 ; Rufus 
W., 419, 434; Thomas, 117, 243; 
Way land R., 243; Rev. Wesley 
L., 164; William A., 408. 

Smith's [Crystal Lake] Pond, 16, 
19, 31, 41, 322. 

Snow, Joel, 126, 155, 193, 194, 223, 
232, 282, 291, 309. 

Soldiers' Home, 77; Memorial, 260, 
261 ; Monument, 166, 261-3, 424. 

Somerville, Mass., 10, 25, 177, 297, 
301. 

Somes, Edgar R., 288. 

Sons and Daughters of Maine, 442. 

Sons of Veterans : W. F. Barry 
Camp, No. 79, 257, 260 ; Ladies' 
Aid, 260, 424. 

Soule, William S., 276. 

"South East," 20. 

Souther, John B., 193, 281, 288, 295, 
310, 329, 332, 390. 

Southwick, Abigail, 94; Edmund 
B., 94, 308. 

Southworth, Winslow B., 416. 

Spanish American War : Army 
Christian commission, 252; bat- 
tles, 247, 248 ; history of, 246-253; 
list of soldiers and sailors in, 247- 
251 ; reception, 251 ; Woman's 
Auxiliary of the Volunteer Aid 
Association, 253. 

Spaulding, Heurv H., 243; James 
W., 258. 

Spear Street, 49, 51. 

Spencer, William, 11. 

Spot Pond, 8, 28, 30, 33-35, 75, 78, 
81, 101, 118, 129, 290, 292-294, 296- 
299, 307, 308, 313, 324-327, 388; 
Brook, 27, 28, 35, 52, 81, 82, 90, 
118, 161, 307, 308, 311-315; Brook 
Cascade, 27 ; Water Company, 
286, 291 ; Water Works, 33, 310 ; 
history of, 290-300. 

Spy Pond, 30. 

Sprague, Alfred W., 231 ; Charles 
H., 88, 89; Cotton, 84, 136; Ed- 
ward, 5, 6, 79; Rev. Ezra, 139; 
Henry, 169 264, 277, 280, 282 ; 
Henry H., 300, 314 ; John 41, 43, 
44, 60, 81-83, 87-90, 105, 118, 185, 
207, 215, 429; Jonathan, 84, 123, 
124; Nathan, 216; Peter S., 89; 



INDEX. 



505 



Phineas, 1(5, 51, h?,, 54, 81-84, 136, 
137, 211, 213, 460; his diary of 
" dark day," 85 ; Phiueas S.,S9; 
Phineas \V., 89; Ralph, 5, 6, 38, 
42, 77-81 ; Revolutionary history, 
86-90; Richard, 5, 6, 38. 59, 77- 
82. 105 ; Samuel, 16, 34, 40, 53, 54, 
60, 81-84, 96, 104, 124, 129. 212, 
216.243; Timothy, 290; William, 
5, 6, 77-80, 90. 

Sprague Street, Maiden, 190. 
Springfield, Mass., 133. 
Springfield, 111., 254. 
Squanto, or Tisquantum, 4. 
Squaw Sachem, 11, 12. 
Stackpole, Rev. Charles H., 140. 
Stafford, Roy D., 163. 
Standish, Myles, 4. 
Stanley, William E., 160. 
Stantial, George C, 231, 283; Ma- 
tilda E., 273, 275 ; Thomas B., 244. 

Stanwood, Joseph E., 150. 
Staples, H. A., 411; Rev. Mark, 
139. 

Star of Melrose, 445. 
Star of the West, 217. 
Stars and Stripes, the, 453. 
Start, Rev. William A., 171. 
State Board of Health, 301. 
Stearns, Phineas, 463. 
Stebbins, Thadeus S., 244. 
Steele, Azel E., 231, 282; Rev. E., 

138. 
Stephenson, Benjamin F., 254. 
Sterling, Rev. Paul, 176. 
Stevens, Charles H., 244; Charles 

T., 281, 283; Edgar M., 230; 

Harrv, 418 ; Rev. Henry A., 147, 

151, 423, 452; Thomas H., 244; 

Walter C, 275, 276, 283, 302, 311, 

319, 320, 418, 451. 

Stewart, William D., 192, 194, 195, 
200, 272. 

Stilphen, John E., 244. 

vStimpson, James, 40. 

St. Mary's Church, 102 ; history of, 

180-183. 
Stockwell, Dean T., 391. 

Stone, Cahin, 231 ; George F., 29, 
230, 254, 281, 292, 360, 394, 449; 
Henry, 244; Willliam H., 226, 
230. 

Stone Crushers, 410, 

Stone Fort, the, 437, 438. 



Stoneham, Mass., 10, 15, 16, 23 24 
28, 33, 34, 47. 51, 54, 75. 76,' 9l', 
93-95, 97. 98, 122, 123, 126, 128, 
129, 134, 143, 181, 191, 212, 288, 
290, 297, 301, 306, 308, 313, 315 
322, 325, 326, 379, 385, 405, 416, 
406, 481, 482. 

Stoneham Road, 47, 51, 52. 
Stoughton, William, 70. 
Stout, Richard, 416. 
Stratton, Danforth D., 152; Rev. 
Frank K., 140; William U., 231. 
Streeter, Rev. Sebastian, 191. 

Street Lights : Globe Gas Light 
Co., 407; Maiden Electric Light 
Co., 408; Maiden & Melrose Gas 
Light Co., 407; New England 
Gas Co., 407 ; Wheeler Reflector 
Co., 407, 408. 

Strong, Caleb, 107. 

Sturges, Allen H., 361. 

Sturtevant, James S., 231. 

Sullivan, J. Langdon, 420. 

Summer Street, 47, 54, 55, 117, 120. 

Summers, Samuel F., 231. 

Sumner, Stephen, 244. 

Sunderland, La Roy. 139. 

Swain, Charles E., 33; Jeremiah. 
■ 70'. 

Swain's Pond, 16, 18-20, 31, 50, 
51, 132, 141, 193 ; Avenue, 31, 132, 

141, 193; Road, 52; Chapel, [The 
Pratt Memorial] 142. 

Sweetser, Rev. S. B., 140 ; Thomas 
T., 244. 

Swett Block, 191, 435. 
Swett, Rev. C. D., 164. 
Swillaway, Henry, 100. 
Sylvan Street, 44, 55, 60, 63, 69, 410. 
Tabbut, Charles H., 247, 419. 
Tainter, Ezra, 121 ; George A., 244. 
Talbot, George B., 169; Rev.Josiah 
W., 169, 170, 171, 265, 285. 

Tappan Street, 107. 

Taylor, Father, 138; Fernando C, 

142, 223, 228, 230, 336, 450 ; Frank- 
lin, 169, 277, 280 ; John, 456 ; 
Rev. John G., 155. 157, 158, 160, 
256 ; Roswell C, 281 ; R. M., 93 , 
Shubael L., 21, 22, 264, 2(i5, 277, 
280, 282, 284. 

Tea troubles, 461, 462. 

Telegraph, the: Atlantic Telegraph 
Co., 407; Western Union Tele- 
graph Co., 407. 



50 (; 



INDEX. 



Telephone, the, New England Tel- 
ephone & Telegraph Co., 407. 

Temperance : Crystal Lake Div. 
Sons of Temperance, 357; Guid- 
ing Star Lodge, I. O. of G. T., 
428 ; contribution of, 235; Melrose 
Lodge, L O. of G. T., 428; Reso- 
lutions, 425-427; Siloam Temple 
of Honor, 426 ; Siloam Social 
Temple, 427 ; St. Mary's Catho- 
lic Total Abstinence Society, 429 ; 
Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union, 410, 427. 

Ten Hill Farm. 40. 

Terwilleger, Lyell T., 228, 231. 

Tewksbury, Rev. George A., 148. 

Thacher, Rev. Peter, 208, 215; 
vSaniuel, 214, 

Thatcher, Frank D., 198, 362. 

Thomas, Frederick W., 175; Laura 
B., 174. 

Thompson, Christopher B., 392; 
David, 5; George A., 153; John, 
227, 228, 244; Napoleon B., 163. 

Thompson's Island, 5. 

Thorndike, James P., 294. 

Three County Troop, 82. 

Three Mile [Myle] Brook; 10, 13, 
35, 65, 81. 

Thresher, James M., 169, 277, 278, 
280, 285, 329, 409. 

Thurston, Samuel, 160. 

Tilden, Rev., William P., 176. 

Timlin, John T., 275, 317. 

Tisquantum, or Squanto, 4. 

Todd, William H., 160. 

Tolman, Rev. Robert F., 163, 452. 

Toothaker, Eleanor Brown, 451, 452. 

Toronto, Canada, 148. 

Torrey, Bradford, 380, 467-469; 
William, 43. 

Torsleff, Rev. Andrew J., 172. 

Tourtellot, Samuel M., 163, 231. 

Tower, Benjamin, 244; John W., 
230. 

Town clocks, 398, 399 ; counsel, 
286 ; seals, 399, 400. 

Town Meetings : first established, 
80, 81; our first, 264-266; our 
last, 266, 267, 280, 

Townsend, Solomon, 459, 464. 

Treasurers, Town and City, 284. 

Tremont Street, 55, 1^5, 126, 158, 
303, 306, 410. 

Tremont Temple, 318. 

Trenton Street, 55. 



Trinity Episcopal Church, history 

of, 172-176 ; new church given, 

173-175; affiliated societies, 176; 

contribution of, 236. 
Tripp, Harry L., 365. 
Trott, Andrew P., 226, 230. 
Trowbridge, Henry E., 361. 
Tucker, Albert F., 419; Henry G., 

169; Thomas H., 152; William 

L., 244. 
Tudor, Frederick 32 ; William, 32. 
Tufts College, 172, 326. 
Tufts, Mary, 100 ; Peter, 47, 50, 63. 

99, 100, 118; Simon, 458. 
Tullar, Rev. C. E., 165. 
Turner, Rev. Edward, 168; J. W., 

191. 

Twitchell, James H., 247. 

Tyer, Catherine L., 173-175 ; Eliza- 
beth, 175; Henry G., 175; Horace 
H., 174. 

Tyler, William N., 163, 244; Josie 
B., 365. 

Tyzzer, Joseph, 409. 

Uncanoonucs, the, 326. 

Underwood, Benjamin, 231 ; John 
N., 166; Marshall, 248. 

Unitarian Congregational Church, 
358, 423 ; affiliated societies, 180 ; 
history of, 176-180. 

United Order of the Golden Cross, 
443. 

United States Rubber Co., 67. 

Unity Club, 359. 

Unity Hall, 265. 

Universalist Church, First, 155, 178, 
265 ; affiliated societies, 172 ; con- 
tribution of, 235 ; history of, 168- 
172 

Upham, A. Eugene, 192; Albert, 
116; Albert G., Ill; Amos, 111, 
113, 114, 116, 117; Asa, 113, 114, 
200, 282; Benjamin R., 114,409; 
Charles E., 418; Charles F., 232; 
Charles H., 244; Dolly, 44, 51, 
118; Eli, 116; Eri, 114; Esther 
N., 114 ; Ezra, 211, 212, 214; 
Frank K., 108; Frank R., 114, 
269, 273, 275, 283, 403, 418 ; Rev. 
Frederick, 114, 139; Freeman, 
115, 200, 284, 419; George, 115, 
161; Henry B, 58; Henry W, 
244; Jabez, 110; Jesse, 48, 115- 
117, 186; John, 41, 48, 108, 112, 
429; Joshua, 115, 116, 282; Mary 
E., 112, 114, 420; Nathan, 116; 



INDEX. 



.)()■ 



Nathaniel, 51, 52, 185; Orne, 114 ; 
Osgood \V., 115, 226; Phiueasi 
18, 20, 108-112, 115, 418. 459; 
Rachael E., 114; Richard, 14, 15; 
Ruth, 109; Samuel O., 416 ; Sam- 
uel S., 114 ; Sylvanus, 230; Tarn- 
sen, 110; Thomas, 15; Timothy, 
115; Warren, 108; William, 51, 
111, lis, 211, 212, 214, 258. 

Upham Hill, 110, 114, 115, 328; 
Lane, 49, 51, 117; Street, 19,31, 
48, 49, 51, 55, 73, 78, 98, 101, 110, 
114-117, 136. 142, 147, 151, 160, 162, 
168, 181, 189. 191, 192, 201, 318, 
397, 406, 410. 

Upton, John, Jr., 40. 

Upwav, Dorsetshire. England, 5, 
79. ' 

U. S. Grant Post 4, G. A. R., 254- 
262, 422. 424, 454. 

U. S. Grant VV'oman's Relief Corps. 
No. 16, 260. 

Valuation Table, 472, 473. 
Varney, A. H., 383. 
Vaughn, William W., 231, 418. 
Vermont, 422. 
Verrazano, John, 3. 
Vial, John, 289. 
Vine Street, 55. 119. 
Vinland, 3. 

Vinton, Aaron 91, 127 ; Beuoni, 54, 
95. 106, 122-124, 212, 214, 463; 
Edwin A., 244; Ezra, 95, 124, 126- 
129, 132, 212 ; Gray, 244 ; Hannah, 
95; John, 122-124, 212, 214, 463; 
Rev. John Adams, 58; Joseph. 
127; Martha, 134; Mary, 132, 200; 
Thomas, 54, 91, 94, 95, 122-125, 
129, 132, 212; Timothy, 124, 129, 
132, 212. 

Vinton Hill, see West Hill. 

Vinton Street, 27, 47, 54, 82, 94, 
105, 106, 122, 123, 126, 127, 192, 
265, 319, 323, 410, 413, 463. 

Virginia, 93. 

Waite, [Wayte] Charles A., 226; 
Ezra, 132 ; John, 14, 60, 13z, 418, 
429; Joseph 17; Mary. 14; Na- 
thaniel. 186; Ruth, 122; Sarah, 
122 ; William, 211, 463. 

Waitt, John R., 244. 

Wakefield, [South Reading] Mass., 
15, 16, 23, 24, 28, 36,41, 44, 54, 91, 
94. 95, 143. 246, 303, 306, 322, 328, 
405, 416, 482. 

Walford, Thomas, 5, 77. 



Walker. Benjamin R., 231 ; D. H., 

409; L. P., 217. 
Walnut Street, 54. 
Walpole, N. H., 177, 376. 
Walton, John, 15, 90. 21:), -JU ; 
Samuel L., 409. 

Ward, James, 387 ; Merrill, -^^T 
Rev. Nathaniel, 14. 



Iph, 



23.- 



261 1, 
353. 



Warren, Charles H., 483; Ra 

230; Myris H., 247. 
Warren Street, 194. 
War subscription lists, 229-232, 
Warwick, Earl of, 4. 
Washburn, Frank L., 194, 196. 

273, 275, 286, 299, 316, 321, 

360, 403. 451. 

Washington Avenue, Chelsea, 45; 
D. C, 217, 218, 220, 236, 363, 365 ; 
Street, 51, 52, 62, 63. 75, 90, 164, 
193, 307, 389, 477. 

Water Commissioners, 269, 291, 
309, 401. 

Waterhouse, William A., 281, 362. 
Water Loan Bonds, 292. 
Water Loan Sinking Fund, 292, 293 ; 
Commissioners, 286, 287. 

Watertown, Mass., 70, 111, 165, 210, 

211, 297. 
Waverley Avenue, 32, 110, 116, 117, 

406 ; Block, 173, 347. 385, 386, 431, 

432. 

Wayte, see Waite. 

Wayte's Mount, 14, 25, 42, 45, 52, 

59, 67. 78, 81, 215, 461. 
Webcowet, 11, 12. 

Webster, Daniel, 134 ; David L., 36, 
192, 336, 398; John G., 192, 336. 

Weeks, Rev. Joseph, 178, 179. 
Welcome, Ann, 103. 
Wellman, Arthur H., 420. 
Wells, Charles A., 244 ; William H.. 

231, 388, 419. 
Wells, Maine, 370. 
Welsh, James. 207. 
Wentworth, Oliver T., 232. 
Wessaguset [Weymouth] 5. 
Westall, Rev. Henry A., 172, 180. 
West Cambridge, Mass., 10. 
Westcott, Rev. Henry, 178, 452. 
Westgate's Hall, 336, 337. 
Westgate, Herbert H., 283; Joseph 

E., 230. 



508 



INDEX. 



West Hill [Vintou Hill, High 

Rock], 28. 
Weymouth, Mass., 5, 108, 375, 380. 
Wheeler, Francis, 43 ; Gardner, 228, 

230; George G., 230. 
White, Alverse L., 152, 230 ; Charles 

L., 244 ; Clinton 196, 269, 289, 354, 

450; Edwin, 164; George W., 450. 

Whitefield, Rev. George, 98. 

Whitehead, James, 207. 

White Plains, Battle of, 118. 

White Rock, 26, 28, 324. 

Whitman, Alonzo G., 199, 202, 358, 
359,399; Florence M,, 152. 

Whitney, Anne, 3, 349; Edward H., 
244 ; Hiram, 404, 425 ; S. B., 361. 

Whittemore, Benjamin, 60 ; Rev. 
Thomas, 41, 168, 191. 

Whittier, John G., 192. 

Whittier School, 193 ; Street, 296. 

Whyte, Oliver, 230. 

Wigglesworth, Rev. Michael, 110; 
his "Day of Doom," 186 ; Samuel, 
186. 

Wilbur, Ralph H., 386. 

Wilcox, Daniel W., 222, 285, 449. 

Wilde, Benjamin F., 244 ; Frank D., 
347; George A., 347; Joseph D., 
169, 172, 229, 230, 2.57, 280, 289, 
294, 295, 389, 450. 

Wilder, Marshall P., 478. 

Wiley, Rev. Ephraim, 137, 1C8. 

Wilkey, Walter, 139. 

Wilkins, Hattie A., 440. 

Wilkinson, John, 48, 49, 131; Wil- 
liam N., 284. 

Willard, Simon, 72, 82. 

Willcox, Rev. William H., 157. 

Williams, Leonard F., 386; Wil- 
liam L., 175, 176, 359, 386, 404, 453. 

Willis, Abel, 169, 172, 419; Arthur 
M., 252, 311, 449; Rev. Lemuel, 
168. 

Willow Street, 55, 147. 

Wilmington, N. C, 371. 

Wilson, Charles E., 365 ; Rev. Dan- 
iel M., 177, 178, 358 ; Henry, 218 ; 
John, 11, 12, 187; Joseph, 18, 51, 
52; Rev. Joseph K., 163, 268. 

Winchester, Mass., 301, 324, 325. 

Wingate, Rev. Charles, 173. 



Wing, Charles J., 392. 

Winnisimet [Chelsea], 5, 9, 29, 41- 

44, 60, 69, 77, 82. 
Winslow, Edward, 4. 
Winsor, Justin, 376. 
Winterset, Iowa, 378. 
Winthrop, Gov. John, <i, 11, 12, 33, 

40, 43, 92. 
Winthrop, Mass., 25, 297, 301 ; 

Street, 55, 119, 121. 
Woburn, Mass., 10, 13, 36, 70, 132, 

134, 301, 326, 362, 405. 
Wolcott, Roger, 270, 271,420. 
Woodbury, Francis P., 280 ; John. 5. 
Wood, Caroline M., 126; Charles 

E., 418; Elizabeth, 161; Fred L., 

272, 275 ; William, 7, 8, 34, 39. 
Woodman, Julian C, 329, 403. 
Woodward, Charles F., 392 ; Daniel 

R., 228 ; Frank E., 33, 420; 

George, 231 ; Henry W., 451 ; 

Thomas B., 169. 
Wooldridge, Edwin D., 247, 252 ; 

William, 336. 

Worcester, Mass., 104. 

Worth, Ross, 418. 

Worthen, Carrie M., 347; James, 
283. 

Wortman, Walter W., 164. 

Wright, Rev. M.Emery, 140; Rev. 
S. Osgood, 30, 86, 139, 381 ; War- 
ren H., 362. 

Wyoming, 28, 35, 36, 81, 151, 306, 
319, 406, 410; Avenue, 47, 54, 55, 
63, 122, 181, 291,296, 303, 392, 405, 
410, 413, 432. 

Wyman, George W., 244; Weston, 
244; William, 244. 

Yankton, South Dakota, 455. 

York, Benjamin F., 244; Josiah R., 
244; William B., 244. 

Youle Street, 54, 106. 

Young, Edward, 108 ; Isaiah A., 
224, 231 ; Louis A., 257. 

Young Men's Catholic Lyceum, 183. 

Young Men's Christian Association, 
155, 173, 348, 351, 397, 403 ; history 
of, 336-340; its Army Christian 
Commission, 252, 253; Woman's 
Auxiliary, 339 ; Young Men's 
Congress, 340. 



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